Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas announces plan to retire at the end of the year
APPLETON - Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas plans to retire at the end of the year after more than seven years in the position.
Thomas announced his retirement in a statement released Friday by the Appleton Police Department. He plans to leave the job in January.
"It has been an honor to be a member of the Appleton Police Department, but it is the perfect time for me to retire," he said.
Thomas hoped advanced notice of his retirement would give the city time to do a "thorough search for the right candidate" to replace him, adding that person "will be blessed to work with a tremendous team."
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Thomas said he expects more retirements among the department's command staff in the next few years and would like his replacement to be able to choose who fills those roles.
Thomas reflected on his time with the department: "Our APD family, and our community, have been through a lot together. Some horrific and challenging times and some exhilarating times. We have faced obstacles none of us could have predicted and the last seven years have shown me how professional, dedicated and resilient the APD family is."
Thomas took his oath of office in early January 2015 after he was selected as the department's new chief in November 2014, having previously served as a captain with the Green Bay Police Department.
In 1985, Thomas' career in law enforcement started in Combined Locks, where he spent a year as a police officer. He also spent time with the Marquette County Sheriff's Office and Clintonville Police Department before starting in Green Bay in 1988.
In Green Bay, Thomas spent 10 years as a patrol officer, SWAT team member and field training officer. He went on to create and implement a community policing team, which oversaw a 30 percent drop in crime in just two years.
From 2000 to 2007, Thomas served as a lieutenant in the operations, investigations and internal affairs divisions. When he became a shift captain, Thomas implemented a district policing model and went on to combine the internal affairs and training divisions as captain of professional standards.
For the final four years of his Green Bay career, Thomas was captain of investigations and supervised detectives, school resource officers, forensics, evidence collection and the crime prevention unit.
Contact Chris Mueller at 920-996-7267 or cmueller@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AtChrisMueller.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas will retire at the end of 2022
