East Texas alum Arley Sansom, dressed in his police uniform and wearing his new chief's badge, smiles for a professional photo against a woodgrain wall featuring a large, out-of-focus Terrell Police Department seal.

East Texas A&M Alum Named Terrell Police Chief

Chief Arley Sansom joins a growing network of East Texas A&M graduates who are leading the charge in law enforcement leadership across Texas and beyond.

East Texas A&M University alum Arley Sansom accepted his badge as the new chief of police for the Terrell (TX) Police Department during a recent pinning ceremony.

The event drew a large crowd of supporters, including State Representative Keith Bell, Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley, council members Phil Robison and Donna Renee Anderson, former Terrell Police Department Chiefs Ken McKeown, Jody Lay and Todd Miller, and a host of family, friends, community members and colleagues.

Cole Sansom pinning a badge on his father, Arley Sansom's uniform while both are standing in front of a woodgrain wall featuring a large Terrell Police Department seal.
Cole Sansom (right) pins a badge on his father Arley Sansom’s uniform during a November 19 badge-pinning ceremony. | Photo courtesy of the City of Terrell.

The nationwide search produced 30 candidates, with four selected for interviews. At its meeting on November 5, the Terrell City Council unanimously accepted City Manager Mike Sims's recommendation to appoint Sansom as the city's newest police chief. Sansom, a 37-year department veteran, served as interim chief following the retirement of former Chief McKeown in January.

East Texas A&M alum Arley Sansom, dressed in police attire and a cowboy hat, shaking hands with Municipal Judge Mike Smith in front of a woodgrain wall featuring a large Terrell Police Department seal.
East Texas A&M alum Arley Sansom (left) shakes hands with City of Terrell Municipal Judge Mike Smith at a November 19 badge-pinning ceremony. | Photo courtesy of the City of Terrell.

Sansom earned his bachelor's in criminal justice with a law enforcement leadership emphasis from A&M-Commerce (now East Texas A&M) in 2021. Taught by seasoned law enforcement professionals, the competency-based degree program offers comprehensive law enforcement leadership training designed for working officers. The fully online program equips officers with the tools to excel in law enforcement leadership as agencies increasingly require degrees for higher roles.

While his degree was an application requirement, Sansom said the knowledge and skills he acquired through the program were instrumental in securing the position.

A growing network of law enforcement leaders

East Texas A&M Instructor and Program Coordinator Jimmy Womack said Sansom's achievement is one of many that underscore the degree program's impact and relevance in the profession.

The program has produced several graduates who subsequently elevated into prominent leadership roles in Texas. Most recently, the growing network includes leaders at two major state agencies, Guadalupe County, and Rockport. East Texas A&M has also established preferred education pathway agreements with police departments in Fort Worth, Terrell and Austin. Through these agreements, officers at partnering agencies receive streamlined access to the program and targeted support to help them complete their degrees efficiently.

“Our alumni are in incredibly prominent law enforcement leadership positions within Texas policing—a state that has long been a focal point for national security on the global stage,” Womack said. “This accomplishment emphasizes the caliber of leaders we produce and reinforces East Texas A&M's influence in criminal justice, policing and emergency management.”

As law enforcement agencies face evolving challenges, East Texas A&M continues to shape the future of policing with a curriculum designed to build ethical, strategic and community-focused leaders.

Ready to lead and serve?

Unlock your full potential and take charge of your future with East Texas A&M's law enforcement leadership degree program. Start your journey at tamuc.edu/Lead-and-Serve.