[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO EDWARD ALFRED THOMAS, LONGEST SERVING AND GREATEST PATROL 
        OFFICER IN THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to retired Senior 
Police Officer Edward Alfred Thomas of Houston, Texas, one of the first 
African American police officers to integrate the Houston Police 
Department and the longest serving in the Department's history.
  So well, so ably, and so honorably did Officer Thomas serve the 
citizens of Houston that last month the Houston City Council voted 
unanimously to rename the Houston Police Department headquarters 
building as the ``Edward A. Thomas Houston Police Department 
Headquarters Building.''
  This honor is well deserved because, as Houston Police Chief Charles 
McClelland has said, Officer Edward Alfred Thomas ``is the epitome of 
what every police officer should be'' and that it is both fitting and 
proper that ``a man of his stature, character and outstanding ethics 
and morals be given this honor.
   Mr. Speaker, Edward Alfred Thomas was born near Shreveport, 
Louisiana, in 1920 and went on to attend Southern University in Baton 
Rouge, where he played football before being drafted to the military 
during World War II, where he saw action with the U.S. Army at 
Normandy, in northern Africa, and during the Battle of the Bulge.
  After the war and his honorable discharge from the Army, Edward 
Thomas became one of the first African American police officers in the 
city of Houston when he joined the Houston Police Department on January 
12, 1948 and where he remained for the next 63 years until his 
retirement on July 23, 2011.
  Mr. Speaker, Officer Thomas' more than six decades of hard work and 
courage paved the way for the hundreds of additional African American 
and officers of color who followed, including the current Houston 
Police Chief, Charles McClelland.
  Although Officer Thomas enjoyed a long and distinguished career, this 
is not to say it was easy or without challenges, especially given the 
fact that Officer Thomas joined the Houston Police Department in 1948, 
more than 15 years before the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
  When he began his career Officer Thomas was assigned to foot patrol 
at night patrolling the African American neighborhoods of Houston, the 
Third, Fourth and Fifth Wards.
  Because of his race, Officer Thomas was not allowed to drive a squad 
car or to arrest White suspects without obtaining permission from his 
supervisor and at one point in his career, he was disciplined for 
speaking to a White meter maid who asked him to walk with her in order 
to avoid the unwanted attention and advances of nearby construction 
workers.
  In those early years, Officer Thomas was not allowed to congregate 
with his white counterparts, he could not attend roll calls with white 
officers, and he could not eat in the cafeteria.
  But Officer Thomas persevered and helped pave the way for many other 
African American police officers, like Chief McClelland and the more 
than 1,000 African American police officers who today comprise about 20 
percent of the Houston Police Department.
  Mr. Speaker, naming the 26-story headquarters building of the Houston 
Police Department after Officer Edward Alfred Thomas is a fitting 
tribute to a man who is, unarguably, one of the greatest police 
officers in the history of the Houston Police Department and remains 
one of the most revered and respected.
  During his years of service to the city of Houston, Officer Thomas 
was named The 100 Club's ``Officer of the Year;'' awarded a Chief of 
Police Commendation by former Chief of Police Lee P. Brown; and 
recognized twice by The 100 Club with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 
1998 and 2011, respectively; and has received many letters of 
appreciation from citizens and supervisors.
  Mr. Speaker, the renaming of the Houston Police Department 
headquarters building in honor of Officer Thomas was supported by the 
Houston Police Officer's Union (HPOU), the African American Police 
Officer League (AAPOL), Houston Police Organization of Spanish Speaking 
Officers (OSSO), and the Houston Organization of Public Employees 
(HOPE).
  Chief McClelland is absolutely correct in noting that there could be 
no finer tribute to any patrol officer than to name the headquarters 
building in honor of ``a patrol officer for 65 years who underwent 
intense, systemic discrimination,'' and to have his name on the 
building as an inspiration and example for others to follow.

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