Finding balance

Jansen Thomas and his coworkers met at Landmark Baptist Church at midnight to play a pick-up game on the basketball court. Amidst the joking and the bounce of the ball, radios went off. Laughs turned to silence. A call about a woman threatening to kill someone had just come in. It was routine for Thomas, 26, the youngest police officer in Winchester’s history to achieve the rank of sergeant.

Thomas began his policing journey at 14 in a program for youth interested in law enforcement.

“I saw the brotherhood,” he said. “I saw how close some of those guys are, the friendship, and there’s nothing else I wanted to do.”

Since he was too young to become a police officer, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18. After being discharged because of a lower leg injury, Thomas started working as a 911 dispatcher in Winchester. He applied for the police department when he turned 21,  choosing to take on every tedious assignment to learn the job.

After his promotion to sergeant, Thomas had to prove himself, especially to the older, senior officers. He gained respect by being a teacher and leader. Sharing his knowledge about procedure and case law, Thomas started to feel like other officers trusted him. 

“It makes me feel a lot better knowing that guys turn to me when they have a question, a situation they’re not sure about,” he said. “They are confident enough to call me and ask how I’d handle it.”

Another challenge for Thomas has been spending time away from his newborn son, Easton. Working nights with a 3-month-old baby means his wife, Courtney, has to take on a lot of the responsibilities. He likes to keep his work and family life separate and rarely talks to Courtney about his hard days.

“If I told my wife everything that I deal with on a daily basis, she wouldn’t want to go to the grocery store by herself,” he said. “The last thing I want is for my wife or my family to feel the burden or feel bad for me.” 

When times get hard, Thomas’ relationship with his coworkers makes things better. They decompress together playing basketball or grabbing dinner.

Thomas takes pride in working in his hometown. It also makes balancing life easier and more joyful. He can make it to family get-togethers or sneak away to find little moments with his wife and son — ice cream dates or even a quick hug at the gas station.   

“It helps out a lot,” Thomas said. “We manage it pretty well for the most part. I know it’s only gonna get harder as the baby gets older. But, right now, we can’t complain too much. It’s going as smooth as it possibly could.”