When Manning Mayor Julia Nelson thinks of Sumter County Sheriff's deputy Cpl. Bernard Thomas, it's his smile she remembers most.
"His big smile first comes to mind," she said. "He was such a respectful and caring young man. He adored his family and especially his children."
Thomas, 33, died Sunday morning after a brief illness. A veteran of law enforcement for six years, the Manning native had been hospitalized earlier in the week, and Sumter County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Ken Bell said his illness was unrelated to his service as a deputy there.
"It saddens me to learn of his passing," said Nelson. "When I was waiting for my kidney transplant, he often had encouraging words to share because of his experience as a liver transplant recipient."
Nelson said she had the honor of swearing-in Thomas when he first joined law enforcement. Thomas would work for the Manning Police Department for nearly two years before joining the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.
"It was a career he had desired to enter into with such enthusiasm<" Nelson said. "It was an honor to have him first serve with our police department."
Thomas initially started a career in education before joining law enforcement. He said in 2016 that he gained an interest in law enforcement from watching his brother, an author and motivational speaker, join the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
“I watched him and how well he carried himself,” Thomas said. "He taught me a lot and I thank him for changing my ways."
A graduate of Manning High School, Thomas received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Voorhees College and a master's of business administration in business management from Claflin University.
“I grew up around a rough neighborhood in Clarendon County,” he said. “I was hanging with a bad crowd for a while myself. I saw a lot of violence and drug activity and always wanted to clean it up.”
But it was Thomas’ home life that help guide him.
“My dad is a pastor and my mom is a minister,” he said. “They taught my older brother and me to treat others as you would want to be treated.”
Thomas applied that philosophy to his work in law enforcement.
"Sometimes I'm in uniform, and a parent will warn a child that they better act right or the policeman will take them to jail," he said. "That sends the wrong message. We want children to know that if they become lost or in trouble that a law enforcement officer is their friend. We don't ever want people to be afraid of us. Not every officer is a bad officer."
For Lt. Donell Dixon, who has served with the Manning Police Department altogether for 11 years, Thomas was one of the best officers.
"When Bernard came in, we bumped heads," said Dixon. "I don't know what it was, but somewhere along the line, we grew this bond. I called him little brother; he called me big brother."
Dixon, who served as Thomas' supervisor during his time with the department, said Thomas was always "the life of the party."
"I'm not a morning person," Dixon said. "When I would come into work on day shift, if he was working day shift, he would get me going. He was always going to say something crazy and off-the-wall. He was going to get you opened up."
Dixon said he found out about Thomas' passing through social media.
"I came into work at 5 a.m. (Sunday) and saw Facebook," he said. "Disbelief was my first feeling. I just sat there, thinking there must be a different Bernard Thomas. After about 15-20 minutes, it got the best of me. I wanted to call him. But I knew he was in the hospital, and that time of morning, I wasn't going to bother him. I reached out to some mutual friends, and they confirmed it."
Manning Police Chief Blair Shaffer said he received a text during church.
"It was a shock to me; I didn't know he had been sick," said Shaffer. "Bernard worked with us from September 2012 through January 2014, when he went to join the Sumter Sheriff's Office. When he came to us, he was teaching."
Shaffer said that Thomas always strived to blend his passion for mentoring children with his passion for law enforcement.
"He wanted to combine his law enforcement career with mentoring young kids," said Shaffer.
Thomas said in 2016 that he would frequently see kids playing basketball on his neighborhood patrols and would stop to join them.
"That was always his passion," Shaffer said. "He would spend as much time as he could with our youth, to try and steer them in the right direction. He did a good job for us. We hated to see him leave, but knew there was a good opportunity for him in Sumter County. There are a lot of good people in Sumter County, and I know he was happy working with those officers. He did a fine job over there, just like he did for us."
Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said Sunday that Thomas worked for his department for three years.
"We at the Sumter County Sheriff's Office had the pleasure of working with him for three years," Dennis said. "He was certainly an asset to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, as well as the Sumter community, which he so proudly served."
In addition to his duties as a deputy on patrol, Thomas also served on the office’s Community Action Team, where he specialized in traffic enforcement issues and was among the members of the sheriff’s office who conducted public speaking engagements.
Thomas is survived by his wife and children and funeral arrangements are still being made, according to Bell.
“I am asking each of you to please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers,” said Dennis, who called Thomas "family."
"He was our law enforcement family. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office will certainly miss him."
If you would like to leave a comment about Cpl. Bernard Thomas, please do so in the comments. Those who would like to be featured in this week's edition of The Manning Times, in which Thomas will be memorialized, please leave your full name.
