Thompson launches Autauga sheriff bid, touts experience and public safety goals

Ty Thompson launched his Autauga County sheriff’s bid on April 29 with a message aimed at voters who want more than a campaign slogan from the county’s top law enforcement office. He cast the race as a test of whether the sheriff’s office can rebuild trust with the public, improve coordination with other agencies and run more efficiently under a leader who already knows the system from the inside.

Thompson said his campaign would center on strong partnerships, operational efficiency and accountability. He is presenting himself as a candidate who has spent nearly two decades inside law enforcement, starting with the Prattville Police Department in November 2008 after graduating from the Montgomery Police Academy.

His record reaches across several parts of the department. Thompson spent six years in patrol, answering violent-crime calls and routine service calls before moving in 2014 to the Drug Enforcement Division. He later served six years as a Task Force Officer with the DEA, working on drug-trafficking cases and other investigations with international ties.

The announcement also points to management experience inside the agency. Thompson was promoted to sergeant in 2018, where he supervised the drug unit and handled training responsibilities. In 2023, he moved into the Training Division before taking his current role in the Criminal Investigations Division, where he works cases involving homicides, assaults and elder abuse.

Thompson’s campaign is also leaning on numbers meant to show breadth and results. He says he has been involved in more than 400 high-risk operations, written policy to strengthen departmental qualification standards and helped secure more than $120,000 in grant funding for equipment.

In a county where public safety, jail operations and interagency coordination remain recurring concerns, Thompson is trying to turn that experience into a broader argument about leadership. His pitch puts the sheriff’s office at the center of local governance, with the May 19 primary shaping up as one of the spring’s most closely watched contests in Autauga County.

The race now places a familiar question before voters: whether experience in patrol, narcotics, training and investigations translates into the kind of measurable change residents expect from the sheriff’s office, from accountability and staffing to the daily work of keeping the county safe.