A native of Cadiz and Trigg County, newly-minted Police Chief Tyler Thomas looks to his home for the blessings he has — and the career he’s undertaken in the last decade.
This was his recent message to the Cadiz Rotary Club, which lobbed tough questions about one of the city’s most difficult jobs.
While it’s a departure from his first tenure in law enforcement — a two-year stay with the Trigg County Sheriff’s Department — Thomas noted more than 2,300 residents call the 14 square miles of Cadiz home.
All 2,300-plus need protection and proper police coverage, and Thomas clarified that jurisdiction can sometimes overlap into county authority — which creates inter-agency communication.
Thomas said that when he started this profession, he’d using 90% of his time on 10% of the population. And according to him, “that’s about right.”
However, the percentage of the population has increased in the last decade — up to 15-to-18%, or a shade more than 300 people on a monthly basis.
The hot spots of crime, he said, revolve around three things: drugs, money and love. And a little more than 1% involve truly heinous, violent acts.
Another hot spot for Cadiz and Trigg County: I-24. As one of the major corridors of the Midwest, the four-lane highway brings with it commerce and transient behavior — and not always of the savory variety.
Crimes here, Thomas said, include anything from panhandling, vagrancy and trespassing, to more serious concerns.
One of the more unique weeks of patrol, he mentioned, comes during the heart of the summer — when thousands upon thousands descend upon Manchester, Tennessee, for the beloved Bonnaroo music festival.
Thomas might be fresh to the position, but he’s not fresh to law enforcement.
Right out of high school and Murray State University, he was working at the Lake Barkley State Resort Park Fitness Center when he first started contemplating this career, and thought he’d go into the fish & wildlife side because of his love for the outdoors.
However, he noted his passion of hunting and fishing would get passed over too often if he had to police others in the wilderness, and so he pivoted to civilian work.
Former Trigg County Sheriff Ray Burnam gave him his first job in the field, where for the first few months he spent stuffing envelopes and mailing out tax bills.
After graduating from Class 444 in Richmond, he moved to patrol duty for two years working second and third shift — which often included surveying all 480 square miles of Trigg County alone.
At CPD, he was promoted to sergeant in 2016, major in 2019, and now finds himself looking to fill one position in his department — which currently is dealing with drugs of choice like synthetic marijuana and out-of-state shipments of methamphetamine.
He said CPD also provides agency assist, investigation, pursuit and even taxi service for “those on hard times.”
Local law enforcement, however, requires some thick skin.
Located at 11 Marion Street in Cadiz, Thomas and his office can be reached by phone at (270) 522-8369.
If it’s an emergency, dial 911.
