Selma Police Chief Billy Thomas Announces Retirement

SELMA – After more than 20 years in law enforcement, Police Chief W.M. “Billy” Thomas is retiring. His last day on the job will be Friday, September 29, 2023.

Chief Thomas worked his way up the ranks at the Selma Police Department. He started as a dispatcher in 2003 and completed Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) in 2007. He served as a Patrol Officer, Senior Officer, Patrol Sergeant, and Patrol Captain. He was recognized in 2010 as the Selma Police Officer of the Year in 2010. In 2018, he became Chief of Police, overseeing the agency of 24 employees.

“Chief Billy Thomas has tirelessly protected and served the Selma community for two decades,” Selma Mayor Byron McAllister stated. “He has overseen the significant growth and improvement of our Selma Police Department in recent years. The positive impact he has had on the Town of Selma cannot be overstated.”

Thomas was born in Richmond, Virginia and grew up in Crisfield, Maryland. He met his wife, Angela, while attending Methodist University and after graduation moved to her hometown of Selma.

It is rare a police officer spends his entire career with one agency, but Chief Thomas wanted to remain in Selma. It has been home to his family for the past 26 years. “It has been an honor for me to spend my entire law enforcement career in Selma, a community which I’m proud to call home.”

Mayor McAllister says he is lucky enough to call Chief Thomas a neighbor and a friend. “I have been proud to call him Selma’s Chief of Police and my friend. The Selma Police Department will miss him, but I look forward to seeing how he impacts this community in retirement.”

Some of the accomplishments under Chief Thomas have been the placement of school resources officers at Selma Elementary and Middle Schools, updating and modernizing equipment, implementing a program to pay future officers while they attend BLET, and improving officers salaries. He says the department is close to having a take-home vehicle program, which will be a tremendous recruiting tool when that occurs.

“I want to thank the mayor, town council members, co-workers past and present, for their confidence and support. I enjoy helping people as much as I can. I can hold my head high going out that the department is in good shape,” Chief Thomas stated. “It has been an honor and privilege to serve with so many first responders that I have been associated with, helping and protecting the needs of our entire community. I am truly a blessed man.”

Chief Thomas also thanked the citizens of Selma. “I hope they have been satisfied, they’ve been pleased. I think we’ve made some tremendous accomplishments.”

Before our interview ended, Chief Thomas shared a quote from Abraham Lincoln that is important to him. “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years that really matter.”