A thin blue line bracelet with the date 7/7/6 can be seen on the Town of Argyle Police Chief Emmitt Jackson’s left wrist every day. 

“This bracelet will be on my wrist until the day it snaps,” Jackson said. “And then I’ll probably duct tape it back together because it is a constant reminder that you have to take care of the men and women who go out and do this job.” 

Jackson, who started as the Argyle police chief in January 2020, served as a Lieutenant with the Dallas Police Department when five officers were killed at the end of a protest on July 7, 2016. The experience serves as Jackson’s reminder to prioritize his wife and three kids while also serving the community. 

“If you witness five good, brave men, all lose their lives in one day, it changes the way that you look at everything,” Jackson said. “You come to the stark realization that in this job, the people you love most here, you may not make it back home to.”

Returning home on that July night at 3 a.m., Jackson said he woke his daughter to hug her. He says he saw multiple officers retire after that night, but he knew that despite the risks, he needed to continue serving.

“While the four officers from Dallas and the DART officer died that night,” Jackson said. “There were also a great number of people who were out there peacefully protesting. And [there were] students running from gunfire and somebody had to run towards it in order to protect the other people. So that, unfortunately, is the very heavy price of doing this job.”

Jackson said being a police officer is an extension of protecting the larger society and his family. Here in Argyle, he hopes that in each of the department’s interactions, community members are treated with respect and dignity.

“Our number one purpose is service which means that if you have questions, we may not have the answer immediately, but we will find the answer,” Jackson said. “We would much rather give you the answer than not have the question asked.”

Chief Jackson is still excited about the future of the town. 

“It’s a pleasure to be a police chief in Argyle,” he said. “I’ve never worked in a more supportive environment than here in Argyle. It is amazing to see the kind of partnership we’re able to have with the community here in our town.”

Above all, Jackson hopes his legacy is more than his time as chief, but his time as a father.

“If you were to ask me what I want my gravestone to be, I would like for it to say he was a really good dad,” Jackson said. “Everything else is secondary.”