Â鶹AV

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Podcast: S9 Ep. 2
Date: January 28, 2026
Title: LU Moment: Sergeant Popillion talks campus safety | S9 Ep. 2
Host: John Rollins

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JOHN ROLLINS: Welcome to the LU Moment, where we showcase all the great things happening with Â鶹AV faculty, staff, students and alumni. I'm John Rollins, Associate Director of Community Relations and Public Affairs here at LU, and I want to welcome you all to this week's show. It's a new semester here at Â鶹AV, and today my guest is someone who is one of our unsung heroes here on campus, Sergeant Byron Popillion, also known as “Pop.” You know, if you're walking around campus, you're going to hear people refer to him as “Pop” the majority of the time. So Pop, welcome to the show, and thanks for joining me today on the LU Moment.

SERGEANT POPILLION (“POP”): Thank you for having me.

JOHN: You know, I started the introduction kind of talking about, we're here, it's a new semester. Let's talk about some of the things you all have in place. You work with the Â鶹AV Police Department, obviously, Sergeant Popillion, so what all do y'all have in place to kind of ensure that safety across campus for our students, of course, but faculty and staff as well?

POP: With the start of semester, obviously we're going to treat our patrols and visibility. You see officers on foot patrol walking around campus. You see officers on bike patrol, a few officers on bike patrol. And a new thing that our president likes is scooter patrol. We do have some new scooters that are outfitted with the lights and sirens on it and it seems like the students like to see us.

JOHN: You bring up visibility, because I think that ties in pretty heavily to what you all do. You know, it's that presence on campus, whether you have to act or not, just that presence alone makes everyone feel safer while they're here, right?

POP: So when we train officers, I tell them that's the biggest thing is your visibility is going to deter a lot of things from happening. So be out and about. Get out of your truck. Don't be afraid to get out and talk to people. Park your vehicle in obvious areas where people can feel comfortable. And those who are thinking about doing something bad, they know that we're out there looking for them. And that goes for day-to-day operations on campus.

JOHN: You all are at sporting events, all the things there's going to be a presence, whether you're entering a sporting event or you're walking around campus or whatever. We know that LUPD is going to be around. So Pop, your official title, as we said, is Sergeant, but you're also involved with outreach and engagement. You serve as the PIO for the police department, and then you help with recruiting as well. So, tell us a little bit more about your role on campus, and go ahead and introduce yourself to the listeners. Tell us a little bit more about you.

POP: Like you said, my name is Sergeant Byron Popillion, but most people just call me “Pop” because it's just easy to remember. If you see the name Popillion spelled out, it doesn't look how it's spelled. Popillion actually means “butterfly” in French. But a little bit about me, and what I do, so I work here at Â鶹AV, law enforcement is a second career for me. So, I started this when I was in my 40s, which I'm still in my 40s. But prior to this, I was an insurance adjuster, what they call an independent insurance job, where I traveled all over the country, kind of chasing storms. I did auto claims, homeowners claims, things like that. Law enforcement was always something that I wanted to do. And I remember in 2016 I was on assignment. This is back when they had the shootings in Dallas. And actually, I was in a hotel not far from where that was at. So as I'm seeing it unfold on TV, I looked out my window in the hotel, and said that looks familiar. And I was actually in that area where this was happening that and I never forget, the chief at the time, of the Dallas Police Department, he put out a call to people, you can be part of solution, or you can be part of the problem. I'd always wanted to do it, and that was just kind of something that put me over the edge, and working in the university setting, I felt that this is where I can make the biggest impact on people and on young people as I serve as an in the role of a police officer.

JOHN: So how long have you been at Â鶹AV?

POP: So I've been here seven years now.

JOHN: Seven years, awesome. And, like you said, kind of like a second career for you, right?

POP: Correct. Yeah. So did I think I was going to be a public information officer? Absolutely not. That was probably one of the furthest things that I could imagine. But chief had asked me to do an interview one time that he couldn't do it, and at the time, I was like, why would you ask me to do it? I didn't think I was that great at public speaking. I'm still not the greatest public speaker, but as you do it more and more, you become more comfortable in doing that role. And when I was promoted, that was one of the things that he said that I would do. I was going to be the Public Information Officer for the police department. So I've been to some trainings, and as you do it, you become more and more comfortable. When I first had one of my first interviews on TV, luckily, the person I knew, we went to church together, so it kind of made me feel more comfortable. And so now it's not a big deal, but I try to write pages and notes. I want to say this because I didn't want to, I didn't want to say something wrong, or have any dead spots during the interview. So it's better to be over prepared, yes, yes. So I don't do it a lot anymore. So I may write down a couple, just a couple of talking points that we may want to get forward and make sure that I get the correct information out to the people, but, but it's definitely a role that I enjoy. I also do the community engagement. So I like being out in the community. So we're, you and I, are on some of the same committees. So, I enjoy being out volunteering at Pietzsch McArthur, here with the ROAR program. So that was, that was good to see where the kids come in. They read to you, help them, help them with that. So that's always cool. And the students like to see me coming. So I just like interacting with anything in the community. So if anybody needs a thing and wants me to come speak, I usually don't need much notice, I'll be happy to do it. So that's actually what I enjoy doing, is getting out and speaking to people in this role. So when I first became a police officer, I never would imagine that, that I would be doing something like this, but it's something that is my passion, and I love to do.

JOHN: Hey, the world will surprise you, right? And I can vouch for what you're saying. You know, we're in the local schools, and I see you and a lot of these community events, for sure. So when you go and you read and do the ROAR program, are you wearing the uniform?

POP: I am wearing my uniform.

JOHN: Yeah, perfect for the students to see that. You know, they might be able to see themselves in those in your shoes someday, you know, right?

POP: So, you know, I try to bring them little pens and stickers. Try to keep up with them when we see each other out and about. So it does kind of warm your heart when you when you see them out and about like this, and they're like, when they say your name, “Pop! Pop!”

JOHN: And then it paints the police in a different light too. You know, they don't have to be, “Oh, it's the police. They give us tickets,” you know, or whatever. When we're speeding, it could be, you know, hey, they come to these like, Day in the Park events. Y'all were out there barbecuing, serving food. So it kind of creates that, it bridges the gap a little, right? So I love that you bring up the community engagement, because y'all do a lot with that, yeah, but that kind of segues me into my next point. So let's talk a little bit more about the services that you all provide here on campus. You know, different things that people can take advantage of. I was just in the parking lot looking at those big blue emergency poles, you know, sure, things like that that are available.

POP: Sure. So there are approximately 40 emergency polls throughout campus. So if you find yourself in a situation you can't get your phone out for whatever reason you lost the phone, just press that button, there will be an officer dispatched to your location. You don't necessarily even have to know where you're at. It goes directly through our dispatch, and they'll know where you had no dispatch an officer to your location. So the good thing about that is, if this was in a city, the average response time in an emergency would probably be about three minutes, but the average response time is probably going to be about a minute. So to be a novel, there have been officers sent there fairly quickly. Some of the things we do maybe kind of outside of policing that you wouldn't think about. So if you like your keys in the car, we can help you with that flat tire. We can help you with that. You need a jump start. We'll also help you with that. So if there's any students or parents listening to this, have them call us first before you drive from Houston to come and try to assist your daughter, your son. That's definitely something that we can do. So let us take a look at it first. If it's something beyond what we can do, then you know, we will let we'll let them know to go ahead and reach out to you at that time.

JOHN: What a huge resource for our campus, though. Think about especially college age, the likelihood of you knowing how to change a tire, it's not always high, and then locking your keys in your car. I can't tell you how many times in my 20s I locked my keys in my car. So that's amazing, and I do remember so about two years ago, I had Chief Flores on the podcast, and he mentioned that the day before we recorded, someone had run out of gas, and they picked them up, brought them to fill up their gas tank. It's little things like that that I love. You bring up the parents. You know, the parents can be at ease knowing that their students are here on this campus that really cares for them and has these resources available.

POP: Yeah. Well, I have three college age daughters myself. So I have one that's actually here working on her master's degree. And I have twins that go to other universities. But I tell a story a lot in Orientation, one of my twins called and asked me, well, told me that the tower light was on in her vehicle. And I said, Okay, well, just go ahead and stop at the gas station and put some air in, and I'll take a look at that when you get home. So she gets to the gas station, she calls me, “Okay daddy, I'm at the gas station.” Like, okay, well just go up to the air pumps, right and put the air in it. So she calls it back, like, 30 seconds later, okay, “Dad, I'm at the air pump.” I'm like, Okay, well, just put the air in it, sweetheart. That's all you’ve got to do. And she's like, “Well, how do I put the air in it?” So I took for granted that. Well, I always put the air in it. So, so now I don't take for granted. So I try to make sure that that parents know that maybe if you took for granted, and maybe you just saw what you like me, you just always handle it, and I was always there. And now that you sent your baby off to school, that small things like that, they don't know, they may not necessarily know how to do so, right? So I don't mind helping out. I don't mind teaching them how to do it. And like, hey, you know how to change the tire. Like, come on, we'll do it together. So those are just some of the things we do kind of outside of what you would think of the normal police department.

JOHN: Yeah, well, I love that you bring it up, you know? I think more people need to hear about that. So there's also, we’ve got to touch on this for sure. There's been a recent expansion to other Â鶹AV campuses, including LIT, Â鶹AV State College Orange and Â鶹AV State College Port Arthur, so tell us more about that.

POP: That is correct. So officially, January 5, we did expand to those campuses. So we're still in the process of getting those campuses up and running. We just want to make sure that we continue on the positive trajectory. So it's not that anything has happened, but we don't want anything to happen, right? So we just want to continue on that. So it's part of the shared resources thing that we're doing. So that's going to include, you know, you'll see more visibility, you'll see more officers, and you may see a rebranding. So we're going to change from Â鶹AV Police Department to Â鶹AV Police Department so that we're servicing all the Â鶹AV campuses and so you see some rebrandings of our vehicles. You see rebrandings of the uniforms that the officers wear in the coming months here. But it's just shared resources. If there's an event at Â鶹AV State College Orange, and maybe they need a couple of officers, we can send those officers over there. Same thing with Port Arthur. Or if there's an emergency, we can wrap up, and we can send all resources that way pretty seamlessly at the moment, but it's been fun. We’re like two weeks into doing this, and so we'll see what are the opportunities that we have there, but ultimately, it's just to ensure that we have the safety and security of all students, faculty and staff at each one of these campuses.

JOHN: Yeah, and kind of streamline your efforts, right?

POP: Correct.

JOHN: A nice way to collaborate with the other campuses and realize that we are Â鶹AV as a whole, right?

POP: Right. So, and it's good talking to everybody, and even though students that have questions about, how's Â鶹AV? So it's just kind of, to me, it's just a good way to bridge that gap. Of course, that's what I like to be out there. So now I'm in our Â鶹AV community, our expanded Â鶹AV community, and talking to those students and encouraging them to come to Â鶹AV to finish your degree. So, so that's been fun so far. So I look forward to speaking to other students, and I look forward to what will come and how Â鶹AV Police Department will grow and flourish during this time.

JOHN: Yeah, lots of opportunities, for sure. Who are some of the community partners that y'all partner with? I know, obviously, probably Beaumont Police Department, right? And especially, I will say this, I know serving on the South Park Neighborhood Partnership with you, y'all do have officers who patrol in that area, and that's an another added layer of kind of safety that you're providing to this campus, right?

POP: So, if Beaumont PD is in a situation where maybe they can't get to a situation, they'll call us and we'll assist if it's something that we're closer to and they just don't have officers to dispatch to that area, they need additional officers, and maybe their backup officers are a few minutes away. We can. We'll definitely help out, and they do the same for us when we have major incidents here on campus. So it's just sort of a seamless partnership, and so I'm glad to have them be there, available for us again, helping to protect the students, faculty and staff and surrounding neighborhoods that are in the South Park area as well.

JOHN: Tell us this, if there are any needs that arise on campus, how can students, faculty, staff, other than the blue emergency poles, if maybe you're walking at night and you feel unsafe or something, you can utilize those. But is there a specific number they can call if something arises?

POP: Yes. So I know everybody thinks 911 immediately, but for here on campus, if you call 9-1-1 it's going to bring you to Beaumont, PD first. So, we ask that you would call our phone number directly, which is (409) 880-8311, and that'll be the quickest way to get to us. So if you can just save that number in your phone, yeah, they'll have an officer dispatch to you quickly. So remember, like I said, we can pretty much get from any point on campus in about a minute really, or less. So if you call Beaumont PD first, it may cause a little delay, because Beaumont PD is just, they're going to call us right to dispatch an officer. But I understand an emergency situation your brain is trained to call certain go straight to 911. So we're still going to get to you, right? They're definitely still going to send officers to you. But we do prefer that you do call the (409) 880-8311 number for any emergencies that you have here on campus.

JOHN: Okay, so really quick before we wrap up. I know we were chatting earlier. Y'all have also kind of added on this other element of what you do, and it's canine mental health services. We're calling them officers, right? And we all know Officer Derrick. If you don't know him by now, you will see him eventually with Officer Stegall, but there's a new canine on the scene, right?

POP: Yes. So, we just got Sandy. Sandy is about six months old. She's still in training. She's a golden retriever, and she is our newest member of our canine unit, you are correct in our mental health unit. So Sandy, if you see her, she's super friendly. If you feel like you need a hug, she loves to be loved on and everything. So you'll see her walking around with Officer Hicks, if you prefer, if you want to see Sandy or Derrick, you want to see both of them, give us a call. We'll schedule to have them come out there, regardless of what campus you're on. These dogs are for Â鶹AV. Â鶹AV Police Department. So, Orange you're at Port Arthur. So like today, Sandy's in Port Arthur today. I believe Derrick’s at LIT today, but it doesn't matter. So if you want to see him, just give us a call. You can reach out to us by phone. You can check out social media. You can look at Â鶹AV Police Department on Instagram and Â鶹AV Police Department on Facebook as well.

JOHN: And these dogs, like he said, are very huggable and definitely there to pet anytime you need it. So I love that they're part of the hard-working crew that's going to all these campuses as well. So thanks again for all that you do. Like I said earlier, one of the unsung heroes here on campus y'all are always out just keeping everybody safe and comfortable and creating that sense of home and community that I think we strive to attain here at Â鶹AV, so thank you for all you do.

POP: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

JOHN: As always, stay connected by searching LU Moment, wherever you get your podcasts, to keep up with the events, activities, programs and people right here at Â鶹AV. This is John Rollins, your host. Thank you for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.