Daniel Thomas is a sergeant at the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. He spoke to The Post about what it is like being a first responder.

The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for patrolling the entirety of the unincorporated parts of Warren County.

“So it’s 630-some-odd square-miles in which we provide policing duties and responsibilities,” Thomas said.

He has been with the sheriff’s office since 2016. Before that, he was a senior criminal investigator for the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. Thomas said he wanted to go into law enforcement since he was young.

“This has been my dream since I was knee-high to a grasshopper,” he said. “I always wanted to be a police officer. This is what I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m doing it. I go to work every day, you know, because this is what I have the passion to do.”

Thomas also said that the role of first responders can be difficult.

“There’s a lot of stress that goes with this job… it is because you are dealing with people who have found the need to call 911. Whether it is something that is the worst thing in the world that they ever want to deal with or something that’s the worst thing in the world that could ever happen to them, and they call,” Thomas said. “You have to approach that in a professional manner… we have resources that we can reach back for to help anybody and everybody. And we try that on a daily basis. And normally it’s up to the person to accept the help that is given to them.”

Despite the stress, Thomas said the job is very rewarding. He said he keeps a bag of toy dinosaurs and stuffed animals in his patrol car to hand out to children. He also spoke of a homeless individual suffering from addiction he and other officers recently helped.

“We just simply made some phone calls and had her transported to the hospital so she could be medically evaluated and then she can start her recovery process,” Thomas said. “There’s nothing more rewarding than having somebody walk up, shake my hand or give me a hug and say ‘Thank you for having your patience with me; and now I am X, Y and Z, months, days, years sober.’ And then you see them turn their life around. It is just absolutely amazing to see. And then it warms our heart when we know they’re now in a place of success and are going to continue to be successful.”