Officer Joseph Thomas, 1964-1996 'He Was A Hero In All Our Eyes' Mourning
Grips City Officer Served
Times Picayune  07-25-1996

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Emma Thomas walked slowly, unsteadily, toward her son's casket.

Supported on either side, she was about to take a last look at her child, an
eight-year New Orleans Police Department veteran, a husband, a father.

Before reaching the coffin, she broke down in tears.

She sobbed as she kissed him, then threw her arms around the son who stood at
her side, also a police officer.

Wednesday, thousands of mourners paid last respects to Joseph "Joey" Thomas,
one of two officers killed last week in the line of duty.

Many of those who attended Thomas' funeral at St. Maria Goretti Church had
spent Tuesday grieving for New Orleans patrolman Chris McCormick.

In a week that called for bedrock strength, resolve showed on the faces of
fellow officers and their spouses who held hands and prayed to be spared such
horror.

"You don't realize until you get here how much it's going to hurt; you realize
it can happen to you," said Cheryl Richter, a former police officer whose
husband, Michael, is a 14-year veteran. "You think good officers are never
going to die, but they do."

Thomas, 31, a narcotics officer, died July 18 at Charity Hospital after he was
shot in the chest while serving a warrant at a suspected crack house in the
lower Garden District.

His death came less than 24 hours after McCormick, 33, was shot and killed
while responding to a report of a prowler in Faubourg St. John.

For three hours Wednesday, law officers, public figures and everyday citizens
filed past the open coffin where Thomas lay in uniform. Some touched him
gently on the shoulder. Others kissed his forehead.

Yolonda Thomas, who had sat stoically for hours, cried as she looked at her
husband for the last time.

One mourner, a deceased police officer's wife, complained of chest pains and
had to be taken to the hospital. Another police widow, Mary Williams, sat near
the front of the church, clutching the card she hoped to hand to Yolonda
Thomas.

"He was a hero in all of our eyes," police Superintendent Richard Pennington
told the crowd. "Joey loved his job and he gave his life for this city. And we
should never forget that."

Officer Rita Irving cried openly over the loss of Thomas, her partner from
1989 to 1992.

"He was always protective of me," she said. "He always watched my back when we
went out on calls. . . . I love him. I miss him, and I'll never be able to
replace him."

The pall of sorrow in the church was broken by cheers and applause when Mayor
Marc Morial said he would name two police substations after the slain
officers. The Desire substation will be renamed after McCormick, and the new
St. Bernard substation will be named after Thomas.

Morial also promised that the city would find the money to buy bullet-
resistant vests for "each and every officer."

The killing of McCormick and Thomas will test the city, the mayor said.

"We must turn to each other and not on each other," he said. "We must
understand that this community is a strong community and a great city."

At St. Maria Goretti Church, the sense of community was as strong as ever.

Mourners showed up who didn't know Thomas, such as Faith Kyame, a Lakeview
resident who said she couldn't stay away.

"I don't know how to describe it," Kyame said. "I just felt I needed to come
by and say thanks for all he did."

Many wiped away tears as they opened the funeral program and saw pictures of
Thomas - as a baby in a tiny wicker chair, as a boy flashing a toothless grin
and as a father holding his wife and daughter.

On the last page of the program, Yolonda Thomas shared her final farewell.

"Many thanks to God for the blessing of an extraordinary husband, who was
loaned to me for eight marvelous years," her tribute said. "You taught me the
importance of living each day to the fullest."

Thomas, a lifelong resident of New Orleans, is survived by his wife; his
mother; his daughter, Ashli; his brother, John Thomas, also a New Orleans
police officer; and his grandmothers, Marie Bloom and Leora Arnaud.