Chief Gabriel Rodriguez and all of us here at the Camden County Police Department are saddened to learn of the passing of a true trailblazer here in the City of Camden – retired Police Corporal Rhoda Thomas.
A Camden native who made the city her home throughout her career, Thomas graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1976 and followed that by going to college to earn her degree in law enforcement then serving as a substitute teacher in Camden’s public schools. In 1985, she realized her dream and became the first African American woman, and only the second woman in the agency’s history, to join the Camden Police Department.
Thomas graduated from the police academy in April of 1986 and immediately hit the streets, quickly establishing herself as a no-nonsense officer who commanded respect and who was truly committed to fighting crime and making her hometown a better place. She would go on to serve 25 exemplary years as an officer in the city in a variety of roles including foot patrol, vice squad, bike patrol and in the security detail for Mayor Dana Redd…