Assistant Police Chief Jerry Stanphill has been employed by Thomson Police Department since 1991. Stanphill came to the Police Department from the city of Thomson Fire Department where he obtained his Mandate (POST) training. While at the Fire Department, Stanphill was the Fire Investigator/Inspector. At the time of his hire, he was assigned to the patrol division where he worked for two years. After working in the patrol unit, Stanphill was promoted to investigator for the Police Department. Stanphill was the first fulltime investigator employed by the City of Thomson.

Stanphill received his training in investigations from the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Ga. He is trained in Criminal Investigations, Crime Scene Investigations, Homicide Investigations, Drug Investigations, Gang Investigations, White Collar Crime Investigations, Arson Investigations, Street Level Narcotic Investigations, Electronic Surveillance on three different levels and Interview and Interrogations. The Assistant Chief is certified by POST as a Firearms Instructor. Stanphill has testified in the Toombs Judicial Circuit on several occasions as an expert witness in Drug Investigations and Ballistics.

In March of 2005, Stanphill was promoted to Assistant Police Chief where his duties include supervision of road officers and the day-to-day operations of the Police Department. Stanphill still performs Criminal Investigations, but on a less frequent basis.