About Lora

When Lora was in the second grade, Denver Police Officer Goody visited her class, and Lora decided then that she wanted to be a police officer. Of course, women weren’t allowed to be police officers in 1962 but that didn’t stop Lora.

Lora began her law enforcement career with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office as a Relief Records Clerk and Dispatcher. She then went to work for the Colorado State Patrol as a Dispatcher in 1977. In 1984 she was hired as a State Trooper assigned to Castle Rock. Her career took her through the ranks of Sergeant, Captain and Major assigned to Lamar, Golden, Limon, Durango, the Governor’s Office and finally to Headquarters in charge of Aircraft, Motorcycles, the K-9 Team, Motor Carrier Safety, Hazardous Materials and Criminal Investigations. After the tragic events of 9-11, she was appointed to Chair the North Central Region of Homeland Security which represented 10 Metro Denver area counties.

Lora Thomas was the first woman captain and major in the history of the Colorado State Patrol, and when she retired only four officers held a higher rank. Lora earned a Criminal Justice degree from Arapahoe Community College, and a Finance degree and an MBA from Regis University. She attended the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command, being elected Vice-President by her classmates. While she served in Durango, she was elected President of the Western Colorado Police Officers Association. Lora taught Criminal Justice classes at Arapahoe Community College for many years.

In 2010, Lora Thomas was elected to serve as Douglas County’s Coroner. During her four year term which ended in 2015, she reduced the base budget by 33% while the caseload increased by 45%. She discovered that evidence such as guns and prescription medications had been stolen, and she had a secure evidence room with surveillance cameras built in the Coroner’s Office to prevent further thefts.

When Lora was running for Coroner in 2010, she discovered that while the public was curious about death investigation, it did not understand what the Coroner really did. After she won the election she saw the need for public awareness events about the responsibilities of the Coroner, a Constitutional Office. During the four years that Lora served as the Coroner, she hosted almost twenty events named, “The Truth Uncovered: A Night with the Coroner.” Attendance varied from 125 to over 250 guests for each event!

After leaving the Office of Coroner on January 13, 2015, Lora Thomas formed a non-profit corporation named, “A Night with the Coroner” with the purpose of continuing to educate the public about the responsibilities of the Coroner. Additionally, Lora is available to speak in classrooms and other public forums about suicide prevention and law enforcement.