Comment on City names police headquarters for retired officer Edward Thomas

Edward "Mr. Thomas" Thomas, record holder for length of service as an officer at the Houston Police Department, lived up to his reputation as a man of few words Monday, declining to address hundreds who gathered downtown to celebrate the naming of the department's Travis Street headquarters in his honor. Alluding to national incidents that have spawned tension between police and the public, Parker lauded Thomas for his "dignity and grace" while working, at times, in a setting fraught with racial discrimination. McClelland noted that Thomas, a member of the police academy's first graduating class, had been an inspiration to him and other minority police officers. Upon being installed as the city's third African-American police chief, McClelland said, Thomas offered him this advice: "Don't think you have to run over people just because you have the authority, but understand that there will be times when you shouldn't back down."