Tommy Thomas is the former Republican

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

Biography

Thomas was sworn in as the 27th sheriff of Harris County on June 28, 1995, after the resignation of Johnny Klevenhagen. He was elected to his 3rd four-year term in November 2004. Sheriff Thomas started his public service career as a member of the United States Army. After being honorably discharged in 1968, he joined the Harris County Sheriff's Office. By 1982, he was promoted to the rank of major. In 1988, he was promoted to chief deputy under a Democratic sheriff Johnny Klevenhagen, where he remained until his appointment as sheriff. He was the first sheriff in modern history to hold every rank within the department, including detective. His term ended in January 2009 when Adrian Garcia (D-Houston) was sworn in as the 28th Harris County Sheriff.

Career

Controversy erupted in January 2008, when the sheriff's office announced that all e-mails would be deleted automatically after 14 days. Texas state law requires record retention for two to five years. Following media investigation of the department's e-mails
Houston Ministers Against Crime
said Sheriff Tommy Thomas should step down after a cartoon about the

Rev. Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights and social justice activist, Baptist minister, radio talk show host, and TV personality, who is also the founder of the National Action Network civil rights organi ...

and the Rev. Jesse Jackson was found in his e-mails. The group said they are worried about the mindset of Harris County leaders after learning Thomas sent that e-mail and finding out about racist e-mails sent by

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Chuck Rosenthal. On February 15, 2008, a lawsuit was filed calling for the removal from office of Thomas, as well as

Chuck Rosenthal, who resigned almost immediately. The sheriff's office is under investigation for the surveillance of two brothers who successfully sued Harris County for civil rights violations. In the 2008 general election, Thomas was defeated by Houston City Councilman

Adrian Garcia Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...

, a Democrat.

References

Texas sheriffs Living people People from Harris County, Texas Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-law-bio-stub