James “Skip” Thomas — former Glastonbury police chief and head of Connecticut Homeland Security — has been named the acting commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Safety, replacing a newly confirmed judge.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell appointed Thomas, 63, of Glastonbury, the acting commissioner as current DPS Commissioner John A. Danaher has been confirmed as the newest judge to the Connecticut Superior Court. Thomas retired from state service last year but agree to fill in on a temporary basis.
Thomas started his career as a Glastonbury police officer in 1970 and became chief of police of Vernon in 1984 before becoming police chief in Glastonbury from 1987 to 1998. He served as the director of justice planning at the Office of Policy and Management from 1998 to 2005, when he became the first-ever commissioner of the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
Following the Kleen Energy plant explosion in Middletown, Rell appointed Thomas the chair of the second of two panels investigating the blast. He will remain in that position while serving as the DPS acting commissioner.
