Leesburg Police Officer Retires After Providing More Than 32 Years of Public Service to the Town of Leesburg

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Leesburg Police Department

News Release

Leesburg Police Department

65 Plaza Street NE, Leesburg VA 20176

For Immediate Release

April 2, 2021

Media Contact:

Officer Michael Drogin
Public Information Officer
(703) 771-4538
mdrogin@leesburgva.gov

Leesburg Police Officer Retires After Providing More Than 32 Years of Public Service to the Town of Leesburg

Captain Wesley Thompson

Captain Wesley Thompson

We would like to congratulate Captain Wesley Thompson on his retirement from the Leesburg Police Department after providing more than 32 years of public service to the Town.

Captain Thompson, a lifelong Northern Virginia resident, moved to Loudoun County with his family at the age of 10. After graduating from Simpson Middle School and Loudoun County High School, Captain Thompson began taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College while also entering the work force. Upon seeing an advertisement in a local paper that the Town of Leesburg was hiring Police Officers, he applied for the job and was hired by the Leesburg Police Department on January 3, 1989.

Upon graduating the 71st session of the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy and successfully completing field training, Captain Thompson worked in patrol, taking on roles as both a Field Training Officer and as a member of the department’s Special Operations Team. He was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 1997, followed by Sergeant in 1998, and Lieutenant in 2003. Captain Thompson enjoyed his time on patrol, which he credits to his patrol team’s high level of proactivity and higher than average level of camaraderie. As a Lieutenant, he oversaw patrol, and later the department’s Emergency Communications Center. While a patrol supervisor, Captain Thompson made it a point to not forget where he came from, continuing to work the streets taking calls, conducting investigations, making arrests, and writing reports. Captain Thompson was promoted to his current rank in 2017, where he oversees the Administrative Support Services Division.

Captain Thompson is proud to have attended the inaugural session of the Institute for Leadership in Changing Times (ILCT) at Virginia Tech in 1999, the Police Executive Leadership School (PELS) at the University of Richmond in 2005, and the 241st session of the FBI National Academy in 2010. Throughout his career, Captain Thompson received numerous awards, a few of which have included, a Certificate of Appreciation for safely locating and obtaining services for a missing suicidal subject, two VFW Officer of the Year awards, a MADD Award, a Unit Citation for helping deescalate a situation involving a subject attempting to harm themselves, and a Town of Leesburg Customer Service Award for creating the now annual Holiday Dinner Project. Additionally, over the years, the Leesburg Police Department has received numerous letters of thanks from the public, from Town employees, and from our law enforcement partners for the positive interactions that they each have had with Captain Thompson.

Reflecting on his time at the Leesburg Police Department, Captain Thompson advised, “I arrived on the doorstep of the LPD a naïve 20 year old and thought that I would never even make it through the academy. Now I look back and look at how time has flown by and the monumental growth and change we have experienced. I feel that we have great people and that we have a great department.”

In retirement, Captain Thompson looks forward to spending more time with his family.

Wes, on behalf of Chief Brown and your LPD Family, thank you for all that you have done over the past three plus decades to better our community!

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