BG officer reaches ‘mountaintop’
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 1, 1998
Pat Thomas has reached the mountaintop of law enforcement. Thomas, Bowling Green police departments crime analyst, retired Thursday after 28 years as a city police officer, but his law enforcement career is far from over. Beginning early next year, Thomas will become an FBI profiler as part of the Quantico, Va.-based Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. I couldnt turn it down, he said. Its good pay and just a real neat opportunity to help people around the country. Part of Thomas job will include profiling serial killers in Kentucky and other states. VICAP agents collect information and help coordinate local law enforcement to investigate, apprehend and prosecute violent serial offenders, according to its Web site. Accused railroad killer Rafael Resendez-Ramiriz was tagged as a possible suspect in a string of murders after a VICAP agent saw a pattern in several unsolved and seemingly unrelated homicides. The law enforcement agency has been popularized by the movie Silence of the Lambs and Patricia Cornwells novels. Thomas job basically will be collecting, collating, analyzing and disseminating criminal intelligence with other agencies, he said. As a city officer, Thomas has administered lie detector tests since 1978 and became the departments crime analyst in 1992.He also coached youth baseball and served on Bowling Green Human Rights Commissions board. Perhaps the biggest downside to his new job is that it will take Thomas and his wife further away from their grandchildren, he said. During his time in Bowling Green he has enjoyed the great community and his co-workers at the police department, he said. Theyre really good at what they do, Thomas said. Ive enjoyed being here; its all been worthwhile.