
U.S. Marshal Thomas Foster |
Thomas L. Foster was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and
confirmed by the United States Senate on July 2, 2020.
U.S. Marshal Thomas L. Foster began his law enforcement career as Deputy
Sheriff for the Salem, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office. Three years later, he
was appointed State Trooper with the Virginia State Police. During his
long tenure with the State Police, U.S. Marshal Foster served as a
Trooper, Special Agent in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Drug
Enforcement Section, Patrol Sergeant, Internal Affairs Investigator, and
Public Information Officer. Ultimately, he was promoted to the rank of
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, and later Area Commander. U.S.
Marshal Foster’s final position with the Virginia State Police was in
the General Investigations Section of the Bureau of Criminal
Investigation, where he served as Bomb Squad Commander, and supervisor
of special agents assigned to federal task force operations.
U.S. Marshal Foster also served as Assistant Chief of Police of the
Virginia Tech Police Department where he oversaw patrol and criminal
investigative operations, and the emergency communications center. Most
recently, U.S. Marshal Foster served as Chief of Police of the Vinton,
Virginia, Police Department. During his tenure as Chief of Police, he
introduced numerous community policing initiatives which received broad
public support and recognition.
During his extensive law enforcement career, U.S. Marshal Foster
conducted and oversaw a multitude of criminal investigations, and
high-profile law enforcement operations. These include serving on
incident command teams for federal, state, and local pharmaceutical
diversion investigations, international dignitary visits, and homicide
investigations. U.S. Marshal Foster has received numerous awards and
recognitions during his career to include the Virginia State Police
Superintendent’s Award of Merit and the Virginia State Police Highway
Safety Achievement Award. U.S. Marshal Foster also co-chaired the
Roanoke County Schools Safety and Security Committee where a program he
developed became a part of the Governor of Virginia’s “4-Safe-VA”
initiative.
Additionally, U.S. Marshal Foster served as an adjunct assistant
professor of Criminology, Homeland Security, and Law Enforcement and
Community Relations for nearly a decade at Virginia Western Community
College. He also served as an adjunct instructor of Criminology and
Social Problems at Emory & Henry College, and International Criminal
Justice at Radford University.
U.S. Marshal Foster holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science
from Mary Baldwin
University, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Virginia
Tech. He also holds a
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Criminal Justice Administration from
Virginia Commonwealth
University, and he is a graduate of the 253rd Session of the FBI
National Academy where he was awarded a Graduate Certificate in Criminal
Justice Education from the University of Virginia. |