Meet Officer Thompson

Officer Cole Thompson

2021 American Legion Law Enforcement Officer of the Year

Whenever I interview one of our police officers for the Meet Your Officer section of the Sentinel, I always like to meet them in their environment. Often that means I get to do a ride-a-long with the officer for a few hours and experience a few moments of what their day entails. I find this puts them at ease, and after 20 or so minutes, they relax and forget that I am writing about them. While I used this same approach with Officer Thompson, it only took a few moments to know that he is a talker, and I could have met him anywhere for our conversation.

Officer Thompson (Cole) is the poster image for the stereotypical characteristics of a Police Officer. He is a Type A personality, assertive, natural leader, protector, a bit intimidating on the outside, but a teddy bear on the inside. The type of man you would call if you were in trouble and the one you wouldn’t want to show up if you were the one causing the trouble.

Cole is a bonified Texan. He was born in Denton and raised in Sanger. He went to Sanger High School, where he found his love for the rodeo. He was a State Finalist for three years. However, staying true to his type A personality, Thompson graduated high school at age 17 and shortly after, with his parent’s permission, joined the Army. Soon after AIT (military training), he deployed for five months to Iraq. Once he was back state-side, Cole was stationed in FT. Drum, New York. However, Uncle Sam pulled his number again, and on his 21st birthday, Officer Thompson found himself back on a plane for Iraq, where he would spend the next 17 months.

Promotion was fast for Thompson. It didn’t take him long to reach the rank of Sargent. Upon arriving in the states from his 2nd deployment, his command wanted to send him to Drill Sargent school. Cole decided he had experienced enough military life. Texas was calling him home so, after five years in the Army, he moved back home to Sanger.

Thompson said that it took him a few years to become a cop. But, after spending a couple of years at home, the Army’s skills and values he acquired, along with his urge to protect and serve, pulled on him and he knew joining the Police Force was his opportunity to serve once again. After graduating from the Police Academy, Cole bided his time waiting for an opening with the Sanger PD by working in Decatur and Aubrey. As soon as the opportunity presented itself for him to come to Sanger, he jumped on it.

Cole’s desire to achieve has served him well as an officer. He holds an Advanced Peace Officer Certification, he is a Firearms Instructor, TCOLE

Instructor (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement), Intoxilyzer Operator, and Field Training Officer. Additionally, he was just named the 2021 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Sanger Texas American Legion Post 268! I have had the great fortune to spend a lot of time with Officer Thompson the last few weeks. In mid-December, the team went to the range for training. They took me along so I could watch. Little did I know that I would get to participate! Cole was very patient. He showed me the proper way to hold each weapon, gave me a rundown on gun safety, and then let me fire the weapons at the training targets. It was a rush. I will likely never be as good as the Sanger PD, and I know I will never be as fast, but I did manage to hit the targets every time except two.

On my ride-a-long, I got to experience what it is like to patrol during the day. As I spend time with all the officers, I am starting to see all the different personalities. We have officers that love patrolling the neighborhoods, those that love the highway, and others who have a strong passion for mentoring the children in our schools. Obviously, Officer Thompson’s passion is teaching. However, he loves to monitor the neighborhoods when he is on patrol.

I only spent about 3 hours on the ride-a-long, but I got to see a bit of action. A call came in about possible breaking and entering of an abandoned building. We answered the call. As we arrived, Officer Tostado, Sanger PD, also arrived on the scene. Both officers had been to this location multiple times and felt near 100% that the wind had caused the door to come open. Still, as a precaution, Officer Tostado entered the building first, his hand resting on but ready to draw his weapon if necessary. Officer Thompson joined in the same manner second. Fortunately, it was just as expected; the wind had been the invader. Each officer did their due diligence to inspect the building. As we departed, Officer Thompson secured the door shut with a pole that was lying on the ground.

I was a bit sad as 5:30 PM approached. The officer’s shifts were near completion, and it was time for me to go home. My spirits are lifted a bit as I know I will soon get the opportunity to ride along again. Each time I go out, I gain a new appreciation for what these guys and gals do. I feel 100% safe during my ride-a-longs, but I recognize the risk they take on every traffic stop, domestic call, and all the other emergencies they answer. They are some of the bravest people that I know. I am so proud to call them not only my coworkers, but as I get to know each of them, they become my friends.

With these ride-a-longs, I often gain a bit of insider information that I like to pass along to you. Do with this information what you will. Stop signs are for stopping. Sometimes, you can get lucky and do the very slow rolling stop. Please take my advice, though, make the actual stop. It is for your safety and the safety of others, plus; you don’t want to pay for that ticket. One other piece of advice - Don’t speed in the School Zones. Cops love children. The Sanger PD is no exception. Doing anything that could potentially harm a child will always result in a ticket. I have seen many people stopped for speeding on the highway, in town, and school zones. You may get lucky and get a warning on the highway or in town. So far, I don’t know of any excuse that has worked to get you out of a ticket in the school zones.