Graceville resident Jon Thomas recognized as recipient of Florida Law Enforcement Award

Graceville resident Jon Thomas was honored at the end of last month on Friday, April 26 as one of the Florida Sheriffs Association’s 2023 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award recipients. Thomas is a deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office where he is a K-9 Officer.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office posted about the award noting that Officer Thomas and his K-9 Hannibal reunited a nine-year-old boy with his family after the child had wandered off during a hike in the forest with his father. Also on the post was a short congratulatory message from the WCSO reading, “Congratulations, Officer Thomas and K-9 Hannibal! We are very proud to have you on our team!”

Thomas is a native of Graceville where he attended high school and began his career in law enforcement in 2002. He has been with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office since 2018. Thomas commented, “I went into law enforcement to help people that can’t help themselves. That may be due to age, disability, or addictions at the time.”

For several years, Thomas has been a WCSO K-9 handler with Thomas noting about the position and the friend it comes with, “I enjoy having a partner all the time.” He went on to speak about having dogs as partners adding, “They are like kids and have good days and bad days but would not trade him. Hannibal is able to add skills to the team that I can’t.” Thomas continued, “Anything in Law Enforcement is not a one man show it definitely takes a team and he is a huge asset to our team and I just get to be his partner. Being a K9 Handler is one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my career so far.”

Thomas was honored at the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee where Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Cassie DeSantis held a Florida’s Heroes Reception. Thomas and his wife, Sarah, attended the event meeting the Governor and his wife as well as spending the night being recognized for his dedication and service to the community and its citizens. Thomas finished showing his humble nature of always uplifting others stating, “I am extremely grateful for this honor but I work with people and there are first responders that do things daily to deserve this honor.”

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