During the Police Commission meeting on Wednesday, January 5, Jason Thomas was officially sworn in as the new Deputy Chief of the Rochester Police Department. In addition, Andrew Swanberry was promoted to Captain, Michael Miehle to Lieutenant, and William Robinson to Sergeant.

Thomas started his career in the Rochester Police Explorer program while a teenager at Spaulding High School. He’s held several positions since, including Communications Specialist, Patrol Officer, Training Coordinator, Sergeant, Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain in 2016. Thomas also served as a Field Training Officer, First Line Supervision, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Incident Management, Internal Affairs, MEB Instructor, Homicide Investigation, Command Training, OC Instructor, and Physical Agility Instructor, to name a few. He is also a graduate of the 256th FBI National Academy.

In a social media post following the meeting, Thomas described his peers as “the most amazing, dedicated, and hard-working men and woman in law enforcement anywhere,” and thanked his friends and family for their continued support. “No one in law enforcement could do what they do if it were not for the support of family and friends,” said Thomas.

Click here to watch the full Police Commission meeting online.