Alfred S. Thomas, Jr. was appointed Charlottesville chief of police effective 23 May 2016. 

Chief Thomas served as chief of police for the City of Lexing-ton, Virginia, since 2010. During his time in Lexington, he directed a number of major initiatives, in-cluding operational reorganizations, up-grades to emergency communications in-frastructure, imple-mentation of mobile data terminals and digital in-car camera systems, and ex-panded outreach to city youth with the implementation of multiple programs including a junior police academy, police summer camp, and a regional high school intern-ship program. 

Upon his appointment to chief of the Charlottesville Po-lice, he was cited for his experience, interpersonal skills and leadership abilities. 

Prior to his time in Lexington, Chief Thomas spent 20 years with the Lynchburg, Virginia, Police Department working in varied roles with increasing command re-sponsibility. From 1985 until 1990, he proudly served in the United States Air Force, attaining the rank of staff sergeant. 

Chief Thomas was chair of the Rockbridge Regional Law Enforcement Command Board and vice-president of the Rockbridge Area Housing Corporation Board of Direc-tors. He is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officials and the Virginia Associ-ation of Chiefs of Police, and he serves on the Board of Directors for the Rockbridge Area YMCA.