Patrol Division Commander

Lt. Ben Heinrich 

Lieutenant Ben Heinrich was born and raised in the City of Caldwell and is a third-generation Idahoan.  He graduated from Vallivue High School in 2003.  After graduation, he attended Boise State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2008.

Lieutenant Heinrich started his law enforcement career in 2008 with the Idaho Department of Correction. During his tenure at IDOC, he was assigned as a parole officer to the Caldwell Police Department where he spent four years. During this time, he supervised high risk gang members and drug offenders living in the City of Caldwell.  In 2015, he left IDOC to begin his career with the Caldwell Police Department.

In 2017, Lieutenant Heinrich was promoted to a detective with CPD’s Street Crimes Unit where he spent nearly 2.5 years.  In 2019, Lieutenant Heinrich was promoted to the rank of Corporal and was assigned to Patrol as a supervisor. In 2020, he was then promoted to the rank of Sergeant wherein he served as a Patrol Sergeant and Sergeant over the Street Crimes Unit.  In 2022, he was then promoted to Lieutenant.

Patrol Division

Lt. TJ Thomas 

Lieutenant Thomas brings with him nearly three decades of law enforcement leadership experience, in various fields, to the department. He served as a Sergeant of Police for the City of Livermore, California, where he worked in patrol, narcotics, swat, training and gangs. After his service retirement from Livermore Police, Lt. Thomas was hired by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office as an Inspector assigned to the Superior Court.

Recently, Lt. Thomas and his family relocated to the Treasure Valley where he, his wife, and son currently reside.