Stephen Thibodeau
Detective, Ocala (FL) Police Department
Officer Stephen Thibodeau started his Law Enforcement career by joining a Gainesville Florida Police Explorer post as a teenager. After high school, he attended the Santa Fe College Law Enforcement Academy. He was later employed by the Waldo Florida Police Department as a part-time patrol officer.
In 1987, Officer Thibodeau was employed as a full-time police officer by the Ocala Florida Police Department. He served in the Community Policing Patrol Division for four years. In 1991, he was promoted to Corporal and transferred to the Investigative Services Division. He served as a Major Crimes Detective for the next twenty-one years. In 2012, Detective Thibodeau was reassigned to a Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in the Jacksonville Division. Deputized as a United States Marshal and FBI Special Federal Officer, Detective Thibodeau served as a full-time Task Force Officer on a Federal violent crimes Task Force for the next five years. In 2017, Detective Thibodeau retired from full-time employment after thirty-one years of service to the citizens of his community.
During his distinguished career, Officer Thibodeau received eighty-seven commendations and awards from various local, state and federal agencies. The awards include two Distinguished Police Officer medals, two Chief’s Award of Merit, and the first Vance Ferguson Award of Merit for investigative excellence.
Officer Thibodeau continues his public service as Reserve Police Officer, a local CrimeStoppers board member, and a Security Coordinator for a North Central Florida College.
