{"id":207740,"date":"2025-09-07T13:48:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T13:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/207740\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T13:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T13:48:14","slug":"seaworlds-most-senior-dolphin-trainer-is-also-a-san-diego-cop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/207740\/","title":{"rendered":"SeaWorld’s most senior dolphin trainer is also a San Diego cop"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Diego police Chief Scott Wahl had been chatting with one of his sergeants, Andre Thomas, at SeaWorld as they attended a \u201cShop with a Cop\u201d event with school kids last year when Thomas\u00a0excused himself. He said he had to go put on his wetsuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember walking away going, \u2018What is he talking about? That was really weird,\u2019\u201d Wahl recalled. He shrugged it off and headed to the next event on the day\u2019s agenda: the dolphin performance.<\/p>\n

And there was Thomas. In a wetsuit alright, a sleek black one with a patch that looks like a police badge sewn on the chest and sergeant\u2019s stripes on the sleeves. And he was on stage. Like, as a performer. With the dolphins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI leaned over to my assistant chief. \u2018Is that for real? Did he win an award or something to be part of the show? What\u2019s going on?\u2019\u201d Wahl said.<\/p>\n

\"SeaWorldSeaWorld dolphin trainer Andre Thomas, right, leads a show on Aug. 31. At left is his fianc\u00e9, Jessica Malley. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the chief of police learned: Thomas \u2014 full-time police sergeant with a leadership position on the SWAT team \u2014 has a unicorn of a moonlighting gig. He trains and performs with dolphins at SeaWorld. Does it in front of packed crowds every weekend, as he has for years before he became a police officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in awe,\u201d Wahl said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Killer whale trainer or a cop\u2019<\/p>\n

Thomas, 35, really does spend weekdays on police duty and weekends performing with dolphins at SeaWorld. Both were childhood aspirations. \u201cI grew up thinking I\u2019m going to be a killer whale trainer or I\u2019m going to be a cop,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

Raised on \u201cFree Willy,\u201d \u201cAndre the Sea Lion,\u201d reruns of \u201cFlipper,\u201d and sharing his aunts\u2019 adoration of marine animals, an 18-year-old Thomas moved from his native Fresno to San Diego, site of the closest SeaWorld.<\/p>\n

\"SeaWorldSeaWorld dolphin trainer Andre Thomas looks on as a dolphin splashes the crowd. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Thomas took a job as a photographer at the park gates in 2008 \u2014 a foot in the door while he figured out his next steps. The next year, he auditioned to be a seasonal intern working with dolphins. More than 500 applicants, 16\u00a0open spots. With zero marine-animal experience but an ocean of charisma, Thomas got one of the spots.<\/p>\n

Six months later, the internship \u2014 some of which bore all the glamour of scrubbing bird poop and bucketing hundreds of pounds of fish as dolphin food \u2014 developed into a full-time gig as a trainer.<\/p>\n

He was in love with his job.<\/p>\n

He was at SeaWorld in 2013 when he got a devastating call: His oldest brother had been murdered in Fresno.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was kind of the catalyst. What can I do to help prevent this from happening to somebody else?\u201d he said.\u00a0He began the application process to be a San Diego police officer.<\/p>\n

But then came an opening for a killer whale trainer, which had been his ultimate dream, \u201cthe whole reason I moved to San Diego.\u201d He snagged the job. Six months in, after he\u2019d established \u201camazing relationships\u201d with the whales, San Diego police came calling. He wasn\u2019t ready to leave and deferred entry into the police academy by a year.<\/p>\n

\"SeaWorldSeaWorld dolphin trainer Andre Thomas wears a wetsuit covered in San Diego Police patches before a Labor Day weekend show. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought when I left SeaWorld on Nov. 2 of 2015, I was done,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019d accomplished my goal. I knew if I sat at home that I wasn\u2019t going to be able to live with the decision, so I started the academy the next day. I gave myself no time to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He performed in the last show of the evening, then got up at 4 a.m. to start the academy.<\/p>\n

Within a year, he was on patrol, assigned to Central Division. He was tapped for SWAT and later became a police academy instructor. A promotion to sergeant followed, and he was back at Central and back on SWAT, now leading a team of six.<\/p>\n

Throughout, he was in love with his job.<\/p>\n

An \u2018instinctual trainer\u2019<\/p>\n

But SeaWorld. He missed it.<\/p>\n

In 2016, he called his old boss, Wendy Ramirez, curator of dolphins. Talks led to an option: try out for the seasonal internship. Once again, Thomas bested everyone and was back for the summer. Same thing the following year. At that point, Ramirez and Thomas thought having him back one day a week year-round could work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enough to keep him in the rotation, keep him with the animals,\u201d Ramirez said. He was the beta test in that regard, but it\u2019s not uncommon now, both said. With experience dating to 2009, Thomas is one of the longest-serving dolphin trainer on staff.<\/p>\n

Ramirez says Thomas is an \u201cinstinctual trainer,\u201d intuitively able to read the animals, an ability that \u201csets him apart.\u201d He\u2019s also a natural leader of people, she said. \u201cOne of his biggest assets is just his rapport with the team. He\u2019s just the nicest guy, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandy, a 49-year-old dolphin, seems drawn to him, eagerly moving toward Thomas when she spotted him near the edge of a backstage pool last weekend. She is the second dolphin he\u2019d ever worked with. Thomas says Sandy is so good that novice trainers are sent her way; she trains the trainers. (Don\u2019t tell the other dolphins, but she\u2019s his favorite. OK, so is 36-year-old Melanie.)<\/p>\n

On this particular day, the Sunday before Labor Day, Thomas was behind the scenes at Dolphin Adventure stadium planning out the 3:30 p.m. performance, deciding which trainers would team with which dolphins and what they would do. As he sketched it out, the other dozen trainers gathered around to take direction.<\/p>\n

\"SeaWorldSeaWorld dolphin trainer Andre Thomas talks with a team backstage before the afternoon show. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

They were soon in front of a packed crowd. Thomas dove in and swam with Malibu, popping up simultaneously from the water and resting their extremities \u2014 his arms, her fins \u2014 on the edge of the pool. It\u2019s a crowd pleaser. The stadium, which seats more than 2,700 people, erupted in cheers.<\/p>\n

Mid-show, Thomas peeled off his SeaWorld San Diego wetsuit to reveal a second one underneath \u2014 the black one he designed to look like a police uniform. \u201cI am a sergeant for the San Diego Police Department,\u201d he told the crowd, \u201cand I\u2019m still here, maintaining these amazing relationships that I have with these extraordinary dolphins. \u2026 I get paid to do my hobby.\u201d More cheers.<\/p>\n

Later in the performance, a twisting motion of Thomas\u2019 arm sent 28-year-old Malibu swimming to the center of the pool to shoot skyward, spinning like a corkscrew.<\/p>\n

\"SeaWorldSeaWorld dolphin trainer Andre Thomas talks to the crowd during a show. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s multi-talented for sure,\u201d Ramirez said of Thomas moments before the show. \u201cIf he were here full-time, he\u2019d be a leader in our department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wahl thinks the same with regard to Thomas\u2019 future with the San Diego Police Department. \u201cI truly do mean the sky is the limit for him as far as what he could do with his career. He could very easily be a future chief.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Thomas was selected to be a part of the police department\u2019s media services team, swapping SWAT duties for social media postings and chats with reporters. It\u2019s the same office Wahl led years ago as the department spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Back at SeaWorld, Labor Day weekend marked the last performances in the Dolphin Amphitheater until early 2026, as the stadium undergoes a renovation. Thomas\u2019 performances are on hold during the stretch, but park attendees can still see dolphins at Dolphin Point and the underwater viewing area.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was meant to be, the way SeaWorld San Diego remained so intertwined in Thomas\u2019 life. He recently asked girlfriend and fellow dolphin trainer Jessica Malley to marry him. She said yes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Diego police Chief Scott Wahl had been chatting with one of his sergeants, Andre Thomas, at SeaWorld…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":207741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,18984,1582,276,5295,1370,728,50,3549,3550,7264,1072,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-207740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-amusement-parks","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-san-diego","17":"tag-san-diego-county","18":"tag-sandiego","19":"tag-things-to-do","20":"tag-top-stories-sdut","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115163333487881920","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}