Lloyd Thomas

Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)

Officer Lloyd Thomas was demoted and suspended for 180 days by the Hillside Police Department. On March 25, 2023, Thomas came upon a vehicle stopped in the middle of the roadway and issued a traffic summons from his in-car computer without exiting to check on it. He then found an unresponsive male slumped inside, knocked repeatedly with no response, but made no attempt to enter the vehicle or render first aid and only requested an ambulance. Charges including neglect of duty and providing false information were sustained.

Synopsis as reported by the agency

On March 25th 2023, while on patrol, Officer Thomas came upon a vehicle stopped in the middle of the roadway. Both Officer Thomas's in-car video and body worn camera were activated. Officer Thomas honked the horn of the radio car and received no response. Officer Thomas proceeded to issue a traffic summons from the in-car computer without exiting his patrol car to attempt to determine the reason why the vehicle was parked in the lane of traffic. Upon printing the summons, Officer Thomas walked to the front of the vehicle to place the ticket on the windshield when he observed a male in the front passenger seat. Officer Thomas advised headquarters he had a unresponsive male slumped over the wheel. Officer Thomas repeatedly knocked on the window and received no response. Officer Thomas made no other attempt to enter the vehicle and check the status of the individual inside, nor render first aid to the individual. Officer Thomas only requested an ambulance be dispatched. When the ambulance arrived Officer Thomas was asked by the ambulance crew how the patient felt (if he was cold, warm or alive) to which Officer Thomas answered, although he never made physical contact with the victim. Officer Thomas withdrew his previous request for a hearing and began his 180 working day suspension ( 1 year) without pay in December of 2023.