Our Instructors

Mike Thomas

Lieutenant Mike Thomas is a 19-year veteran of the Norfolk Police Department and the current Officer in Charge of the Department’s Special Projects.

Lt. Thomas was a detective with the Norfolk Police Department’s General Assignment Squad, Homicide Squad, and Special Crimes Unit for eight years and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

As a sergeant, Lt. Thomas was assigned to the Office of Professional Standards for three years. Currently, Lt. Thomas sits on several multi-disciplinary teams including the Norfolk Criminal Justice System’s Evidence Based Decision Making Group, Norfolk Police Department Evidence Based Decision Making Group, and the Norfolk Family Justice Center Workgroup.

Lt. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University, and Doctor of Philosophy from Regent University in Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Development. In 2019, Lt. Thomas was selected as a National Institute of Justice LEADS Scholar (Law Enforcement Advancing Data Science).

Lt. Thomas is an instructor for IACP’s Leadership in Police Organizations course and is a Trilogy Award recipient after attending FBI-LEEDA’s Supervisor Leadership Institute, Command Leadership Institute, and Executive Leadership Institute.

He attended the University of Richmond’s Professional Executive Leadership School and was awarded the Graduate Leadership Award for the 45 th session. He has conducted multiple research projects within the Norfolk Police Department related to servant leadership, emotional intelligence, police leader burnout, and learning organizations. Lt. Thomas joined the Pinnacle TCI team of growing professionals in 2022. We are honored to have such talent on our team.