09/08/2026
The City of Texas City is pleased to announce the selection of Clayton Pope as the City’s new Chief of Police, after an extensive and unprecedented interview process that was designed to gather input from a broad cross-section of city leaders, law enforcement professionals and the Texas City community.
Pope brings more than 24 years of law enforcement leadership experience to the role, including more than 18 years with the Texas City Police Department.
Currently, he serves as Administrative Captain with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, overseeing a $67 million departmental budget, supervising approximately 40 sworn and civilian employees and managing a fleet of approximately 180 law enforcement and support vehicles.
Pope helped the Sheriff’s Office secure more than $2 million in federal and state grant funding, including UASI, SHSP and Operation Lone Star initiatives. In his role, he also directs recruitment, workforce development and succession planning initiatives, in addition to coordinating with other agencies and community partners to enhance homeland security and emergency preparedness.
Prior to his current position, Pope spent nearly two decades with the Texas City Police Department, where he served as Captain, Patrol Commander and SWAT Commander.
“Texas City is more than a community I served; it’s home,” Pope said. “It’s the department where I spent the majority of my law enforcement career, developed as a leader, and built relationships with officers, employees, city leaders and the community.”
Pope holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a Leadership emphasis from Texas A&M University-Commerce and an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from College of the Mainland.
His certifications and training include: the TPCAF Law Enforcement Command Officer Program, TPCAF Developing Leaders for Texas Law Enforcement, a TCOLE Master Peace Officer Certificate, FBI-LEEDA Media and Public Relations/PIO training, TEEX Incident Command Simulation Training, TCOLE Instructor and Field Training Officer certifications, and advanced accident investigation and reconstruction training. He has also been accepted to the FBI National Academy.
Pope’s selection follows an in-depth interview process that involved a broad range of participants, perspectives and areas of expertise at each stage of the process.
In total, six candidates were interviewed by a diverse panel that was comprised of City leaders and staff, law enforcement, the business and faith communities and a former Texas City police chief. Following the panel interviews, three finalists were selected to advance.
The finalists then participated in a multi-stage process that included interviews with City Commissioners, followed by a meet-and-greet that included City staff, department heads, community members and participating Commissioners, where each of the three finalists presented their vision, goals, priorities and plan for the department.
Attendees were given an opportunity to share feedback that was reviewed and evaluated before Mayor Abel Garza conducted final one-on-one interviews.
“Selecting a police chief is one of the most important decisions a community can make,” Mayor Garza said. “It affects every part of our community. That’s why we wanted to include the community every step of the way. Each comment, each conversation, each piece of feedback we received – each played an important role in the decision.”
“I am proud to welcome Clayton Pope back to the Texas City Police Department. His leadership, experience and vision resonated with everyone at every stage of the process. We are fortunate to have such an exceptional police department, and I have no doubt that under his leadership, the department will continue to grow and strengthen even more.”
Pending confirmation by City Commission, Pope is expected to assume the role of Police Chief next month.
