Henderson County Sheriff's Office, North Carolina
End of Watch: Friday, December 28, 2012
Age: 47
Tour of Duty: 19 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Training accident
Date of Incident: May 1, 2009
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
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. He is survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, one grandson, brother, sister, parents, and his grandmother.