Thomas Harris’s 43 years of service beneficial for Rockdale
When a law enforcement officer serves five years in the same place that’s an impressive achievement.
When one serves 10, that’s a career.
When one serves 20, that’s a legacy.
When one serves 43, that’s Thomas Harris.
Harris is retiring at the end of this month after serving the Rockdale area in law enforcement since 1977, the first 23 as a Rockdale-based deputy sheriff and the last 20 as police chief.
But instead of quoting statistics, which we could, let’s relate one anecdote from his law enforcement career to illustrate the respect in which he was, and is, held by all segments of the community.
Harris, who is profiled on page 1A, knew well that the relationship between law enforcement and a location in Rockdale had deteriorated, in the years before he became chief, to the point where officers would not venture into it without backup and would occasionally be pelted with bottles.
So Harris went there, alone, spied a familiar face and said he hoped he could improve things. The man stood and, in a loud voice, introduced Harris, vouched for him and told everyone within earshot that he did not want Harris to get any trouble from anyone.
“After that, I could go there alone and even arrest someone, when that was needed, and I never got stuff thrown at me, or anything like that,” Harris said.
That kind of thing happens when you build a reputation for fairness, integrity and common sense like Harris.
That last one is a quality some law enforcement officers may find hard to master. But not Harris, who nailed the key part of a law enforcement officer’s job in a couple of memorable sentences.
“You need to be as good as a preacher and as mean as the meanest son-of-a-gun in town. And you need to know when to be which one,” he said.
Harris was special in a lot of ways. A key one, especially in a small town, was his accessibility. Where he lives is common knowledge. His
Where he lives is common knowledge. His street address and phone number were in the phone book, when we used to use phone books and land lines.
Did some people get mad at him over those many years?
If a law enforcement officer is doing his or her job, there will always be some people mad at them. In fact, sometimes taking a good look at the people who are mad can prove the officer is doing exactly what he or she is supposed to.
In the story on page 1A you can find a quote by Harris to the effect that he has enjoyed every minute he has been in law enforcement here.
Now there are some people you might doubt when they say that.
But not Thomas Harris. You’d never doubt anything he told you.
He’s that kind of a guy.—M.B.
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