Facing retirement, Franklin County sheriff recalls the day he became a cop 44 years ago
Franklin County Sheriff Steve Thomas put on a police badge for the first time in 1980.
In recent days, the sheriff made a difficult personal decision that he would not seek re-election to the office in 2024. The badge he now wears will become a piece of memorabilia.
After 44 years in law enforcement and 20 of those years as sheriff, Thomas decided it will soon be time to step aside from the job where he was the top law enforcement officer in a county of about 24,000.
“I’ve enjoyed what a sheriff can do. It’s a powerful thing, but with power comes responsibility,” he said last week, after he publicly announced his decision.
“Nowadays, things are changing and everybody questions everything you do, but when a sheriff hires officers to come and work for him, they become family,” Thomas said. “I’ve got some folks that have been here with me the whole 20 years.”
And that issue is what Thomas wrestled with over the decision. He recalled writing four letters announcing his decision not to run again. But he tore them up.
“Most of that was because I was concerned about my employees. What will they do? Will they have a job?” said Thomas, who turns 64 next year.
Thomas, a sheriff who said he never sat in his office all day, said being a sheriff in a smaller county means being accessible to the residents.
“In big counties, it is more a political figure and you’re more an administrator, but in a county where you’ve got less than 30,000 folks, these folks want to talk to the sheriff,” he said.
Becoming a law enforcement officer was something that piqued Thomas’ interest as a young fellow.
“Growing up I always enjoyed sitting down and talking to law enforcement officers and firemen. That’s a child’s dream, or back then it was,” he said.
One day he and some friends were in Athens and while talking to a policeman, the officer mentioned they had four or five openings. Thomas told him he always thought about a job in law enforcement and the policeman encouraged him go ahead and apply.
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Thomas, who was living in Canon and attending Emmanuel College, applied with the Elberton Police Department.
“Chief (George) Ward called me. He did an interview on Monday and they did a background check. On Friday he called and said, ‘You got a gun?’ and I said, ‘No, but I’ll get one.” He said ‘Get one,’ and, ‘Can you come to work on Sunday night?’”
Thomas said he could.
“He told me I had to shave and cut my hair and I said, ‘I can do that,’”
Thomas said he purchased a .357-caliber, four-inch model 19 Smith & Wesson pistol from Bowman police officer Tim Reynolds.
“I’d shot rifles and shotguns but never really a pistol,” he said, but he quickly tried to master the six-shooter. “I probably shot 200 rounds that weekend.”
On a Sunday night, which happened to be his birthday in 1980, he put a badge on his chest. Then he went on night patrol in Elberton.
During his years in law enforcement, he joined the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, where began patrolling the county and meeting people in the county’s five municipalities, Lavonia, Canon, Royston, Franklin Springs and Carnesville.
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“You had all of these mom-and-pop stores and I’d stop in and see them,” he said. Over time he built a rapport with people in the county which became important when seeking an elected office.
During his career, Thomas had some close calls with danger while patrolling on highways and answering calls.
But the death of his son, Cruz Thomas, a deputy who was killed in a crash while working on I-85 in 2014, was a devastating blow.
“I about quit,” Thomas said. “But through family and prayer I knew that wouldn’t be what he wanted me to do. ... It’s dangerous out there and we have to be as careful as we can."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Franklin County Sheriff Steve Thomas won't seek re-election in 2024
