‘It’s the person behind the badge.’ York SC cop Rick Thomasson retires after 37 years
Friday just minutes after noon, Lt. Rick Thomasson walked out of the York Police Department station in his hometown. The place where he worked for 37 years stood behind him. His shift was over.
This time was different.
There is no going back the next day. He retired at age 64.
And this time, the department, and dozens from the public, lined the walkway out the department to thank him. Some of those tough cops, black cops and white cops and Hispanic cops, wiped away tears as they stood at attention in their bullet-proof vests.
An era was over. A teacher was gone. A man who believed that how you talk to people was just as important as putting bad guys in jail, would be gone.
“Just because you have a badge, that doesn’t matter,” Thomasson said. “It’s the person behind the badge that counts.”
It was the respect for that person behind the badge, that brought so many out to thank him. Thomasson grew up in York, stayed there as a police officer, and rose through the ranks. He started as a patrolman and did every job in the department up through lieutenant.
“Rick Thomasson is the reason I am here, the reason we all are who we are for the public,” said Lt. Billy Mumaw, who runs the detectives in the city. “He taught us all. Every one of us.”
Thomasson joined the force in 1973 as the third black officer in the department. He became an invaluable teacher and leader, said York Police Chief Andy Robinson.
Robinson said Thomasson’s contacts in the community, demeanor, and trust of the people made him indispensable. York is a South Carolina city of just under 10,000 people. Robinson said it always felt like Thomasson knew them all.
“There is no replacing Rick Thomasson,” Robinson said. “He’s a legend in York.”
Thomasson was embarrassed by all the attention Friday. He’s a quiet man with a gentle touch. He never would have made it as a TV cop full of brash machismo.
Thomasson said his role as an officer was always to be someone who helped the situation, his city of York be safer and better for everybody.
As he walked out of the station to cheers and tears, city council members and firemen and lawyers, judges and secretaries and highway patrol troopers, thanked him for doing just that.
“I was taught to always treat people as you would want to be treated,” Thomasson said. “You talk to people like they are somebody. Like they are family. The police, we are here to help. You do that, you will last long in this game.”
The game is now over for Thomasson. Based on his send-off, it appeared the winner was a whole city.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
