Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Shane Thomas died due to complications from an injury he sustained while taking part in mounted patrol training in May 2009.
He was training at Horseshoe Farms when the horse he was riding reared and fell on top of him, breaking his neck and rendering him a quadriplegic. He was airlifted to Mission Hospital and spent the next four months rehabilitating in Atlanta, Georgia.
Detective Thomas returned home in October 2009 but had limited mobility. With the assistance of voice activated computer software, he was able to return to work with the sheriff's office performing computer data entry and managing confidential information about drug dealers.
Detective Thomas developed complications from his spinal injuries and passed away on December 28th, 2012, as a result.
Detective Thomas had served with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office for 19 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, one grandson, brother, sister, parents, and his grandmother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-2E7B1BFA- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Thomas gave the Henderson County Sheriff's Office 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the Hendersonville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Thomas.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Randall "Shane" Thomas is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NC, 205 of 664 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.9% of this state's fallen.
At Henderson County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Randall "Shane" Thomas's cause is highlighted.
How Randall "Shane" Thomas Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Randall "Shane" Thomas is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Henderson County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
