As the son of a former Bowie County Chief Deputy, Liberty-Eylau Independent School District's new police chief is carrying on the family tradition of law enforcement-this time in hallways instead of on highways.
Bart Veal, who was named to the top position in April, brings decades of service to the district, having served as a patrol officer in Athens, Texas and Hope, Ark., then working in several positions in the Texarkana, Ark. Police Department, including as the Public Information Officer. Veal has also worked for the Bowie County Public Defender's Office, Child Protective Services in Texas, Texarkana College and most recently, the Wake Village Police Department.
Each of his positions has led him home to Liberty-Eylau, where he says his spots have always remained true.
"I'm a Leopard. Somebody asked me 'what does it feel like?' It feels like I'm home. I'm a Leopard," Veal said. He is the son of Smokey and the late Peggy Veal, who chose to raise their children in the Liberty-Eylau community. He graduated from L-EHS in 1985, and is father to Noah, 8 and daughter Josie, 13, both of whom have attended L-E schools. "It's great to have the opportunity to do what I chose to do for my life, to be a police officer, and be able to do it in a place that gave me the foundation to become a police officer. I'm really excited about that."
He said his inspiration to become a police officer came from the elder Veal, who worked under Earl Sabo in the 70s and 80s. His mother was one of the only females in Texarkana who owned a motorcycle business, Peggy's Motorcycle Parts and Accessories, which was located on South Lake Drive. She passed away from cancer in 1998 at age 51. Together, he said, his parents were well-known for their respective jobs in Texarkana.
"Everybody would probably know, if you speak of Smokey, you'll speak of Peggy," he said.
Veal has also made a name for himself in the police community through the various positions in his career. He said some of his peers questioned his taking the job as an investigator for the public defender's office and that he told them he was still serving justice.
"It's the dark side, but it gave me a unique aspect and a way to look at things and I would be able to see where the defense might come at something," he said. "Just putting people behind bars is not justice the courts really, they seek justiceto take it further, the courts are there to seek the truth and justice. Those kind of run hand in hand."
Although Veal is knowledgeable of the ins and outs of the justice system, he's also a parent, and that gives him an advantage when dealing with students.
"If you are a parent, you have a different perspective and patience and overall experiences. You can learn how to communicate with children better if you have children," he said, adding that one of his goals is to be approachable to the students. "I'm trying to make it where it's not so rigid that the student can't see the person that is a police officer."
In doing so, he said people will rarely see him in a fully-starched uniform, instead preferring a uniform of a shirt and pants, sometimes a blazer. While not casual, it's not threatening, and that's part of his goal of making positive changes.
"I love being back here. I'm honored and humbled and looking forward to the opportunity to help make this place, L-E, a peaceful, comfortable place for children to learn. You can't just have just protection. A child won't learn if they don't feel comfortable, if they don't feel at peace," he said. Enforcing school rules without criminalization is another of Veal's goals, and he said he hopes that will also help create a positive
learning environment.
"I bring an open mind to it," he said. "One of the things I told them when they hired me, I said, 'Look, I'm a communicator.' One thing I want to do, I want to communicate with everyone. I want to get to know everyone so I can be approachable and open minded about it. I didn't come here to criminalize anyone. Actually that's the furthest thing I want to do. I want to do everything that I can not to criminalize these, youth, these children and juveniles."
Veal replaces former Chief Mike Landers, who retired after seven years of service to the district.