Outgoing Belton police chief named executive director of police chiefs association

Belton Police Chief and Assistant City Manager Gene Ellis notified City Manager Sam Listi that he plans to retire from the city of Belton and municipal public service effective Feb. 2, 2024, a news release said.
Texas Pictures

Killeen Daily Herald
BY JOEL VALLEY | TELEGRAM STAFF
December 7, 2023

The Texas Police Chiefs Association announced that Belton Police Chief Gene Ellis will serve as the organization’s next executive director following his retirement in February 2024.

“Through an organization such as TPCA, issues affecting the criminal justice system can be addressed both with local elected officials and the state legislature,” TPCA said in a statement posted to its website. “Over five decades after its founding, TPCA actively seeks to promote the professional practice of law enforcement administration, to represent the membership and the profession on issues of concern, and to encourage high ethical standards of conduct among law enforcement administrators through its code of ethics.

Ellis previously served as the TCPA president from 2019-2020.

Several law enforcement officers across the state took to social media to congratulate Ellis on his appointment as the next executive director of the organization, including Christopher Cook, the chief of police and director of public safety for the White Settlement Police Department in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

“Congratulations to Chief Gene Ellis on his appointment,” he said in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “This is great for the profession and state of Texas.”

Last month, Ellis — who spent nine of his 14 years in Belton in a dual role as the police chief and assistant city manager — announced that he would retire as the Belton Police Chief effective Feb. 2, 2024.

“The highest honor of my career has been to serve alongside the servant guardians at the Belton Police Department and all of the other great employees working for the city of Belton,” Ellis, 55, said. “I love the people I work with, and love this profession. However, the timing is right, and a succession plan is in place.”

His retirement will conclude a 34-year career in law enforcement — one that will be capped off with a retirement ceremony at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, at the Cadence Bank Club in Belton.

“I could go on and on about the Belton Way and all the amazing things the great employees of this city do every day in service to others,” Ellis, who has served 24 total years as a police chief, said. “Belton is doing it the right way, and I will continue to be the biggest cheerleader for the Belton Police Department and for the city of Belton.”

Belton City Council is expected to address Ellis’ soon-to-be vacant positions in the coming weeks.

“I anticipate the City Council will address the police chief position at its next meeting on Tuesday, and that the assistant city manager position would be considered separately at another time,” city of Belton spokesman Paul Romer told the Telegram in an email.