ACUPD is starting the semester with the addition of new departmental badges for its officers.
Chief of Police and ACU alum Jason Ellis began the process when he became a part of the department. Ellis said it is customary when a new chief takes over a department, they begin to make some changes.
“I wanted to put my mark, just change something,” Ellis said. “I didn’t love the way the old badge looked and just wanted something different.”
The old badge design is akin to badges seen throughout the state, featuring the officer’s title, the Texas state seal and a bald eagle cresting the top.
The design of the new badge features the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building and its iconic tower of light. The building is accompanied by the flags of Texas and the United States flanking each side.
Ellis said he drew inspiration from his old badge from his time with the Frisco Police Department. Its badge features a similar design with a landmark of the Frisco Police Department building.
The landmark element was the most significant part of Ellis’s desired design. For him, it was an easy choice.
“If you think about ACU, what do you think of, what is your image of ACU,” Ellis said. “The Bible building – that’s it, the tower – that’s what you think of ACU.”
Ellis doesn’t take full credit for this change. Most of the design efforts came from Lieutenant Bucky Dent.
For Dent, the process began by finding the right company for the job. He said in law enforcement, unoriginal cookie-cutter-like designs are common.
“Several companies already made templates online that almost look more like your old one, so they’re very basic,” Dent said. “But we didn’t want that. I wanted to go above and beyond if we were going to turn this thing into a new badge project.”
The company of choice was Smith and Warren badges. Through the help of its team, Dent was able to come up with a new design for the badges.
The final step was the designs approval from the university’s Creative Services Department. Upon approval, the new design was ordered, shipped and delivered to ACUPD.
Ellis said the badge change is only the start and more changes are on the way.
