Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Virgil Thomas died after contracting COVID-19 during a call for service.
Sergeant Thomas had served with the Richmond Police Department for 24 years. He had previously served with the Albany Police Department and Novato Police Department for four years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Sergeant Virgil Lynn Thomas Sr. died on August 20, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 51.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-737FE7A9- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Sergeant Thomas gave the Richmond Police Department 28 years.
Thank you for your service to the Richmond community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Thomas.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Virgil Lynn Thomas Sr. is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In CA, 75 of 1,837 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4.1% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Richmond Police Department, 1 of 11 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Virgil Lynn Thomas Sr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Virgil Lynn Thomas Sr. Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Virgil Lynn Thomas Sr. is highlighted in Aug.
Others Who Wore This Badge
10 officers from Richmond Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
