The 'History' Of Glendale's Police Department Retires
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Glendale Assistant Police Chief Matt Lively isn’t required to respond to calls in progress.
But about a month before retirement, he showed up at an apartment complex where Glendale police were searching for a man court records say shot someone in the leg, and then stood over the victim with the gun pointed at their head.
“He’s the one who actually gathered information from a witness and said the guy is over there behind a dumpster,” said Glendale Police Chief Debora Black. “So he grabbed a back-up officer and they went and made the apprehension.”
After three decades working for his hometown police department, Lively will turn in his badge this week. Colleagues say his success grew from a deep commitment to Glendale and a passion for protecting its people.
But the department will lose more than just a local guy who’s always willing to pitch in. Lively’s counter-terrorism training has protected everyone who’s ever been to a game at University of Phoenix Stadium. His expertise on school safety helped Glendale police get to Independence High School within two minutes of the 911 call reporting shots fired just a few weeks ago.
“It’s certainly not a career for everybody,” Lively said. “There is stuff that people don’t want to see or hear about, or they only want that little blurb on the news. Being at those types of calls or incidents has an impact on anybody.”
Lively admits retirement will be a big change. He grew up on the same street where another assistant police chief, a lieutenant and a commander lived. The impact on his life was so strong, Lively said teaching was the only other job he ever considered.
“From the time I was 14 or 15, I was pretty focused on being a cop,” Lively said. “Knew what I wanted to do. Knew where I wanted to do it.”
Sometimes police officers have to change departments to get a chance to hold a top rank. Lively joined Glendale in 1985 and has been there ever since.
“I’m really fortunate and honored to have been able to do my entire career here,” Lively said.
When police in body armor confronted protesters in Ferguson and Baltimore, they were criticized for being over militarized and losing touch with the communities they serve. Lively embodies the spirit of neighborhood beat cop from the mid-20th century, Black said. As a Glendale native, his connection to residents has not changed.
“I think he really models that, in particular to younger officers-– that you can’t serve people if you don’t know people,” Black said.
Peers say his example has influenced every Glendale officer on the force, including fellow Assistant Chief Rick St. John.
“I like to refer to Matt as Mr. Arizona,” St. John said. “The guy seems to know everything about not just the city of Glendale but the Valley as a whole. He really is the history of our police department.”
Lively started out on a beat in the area where he grew up. He worked as a property crimes detective and later served as commander of investigations. When University of Phoenix Stadium opened in 2006, department brass chose him to be Glendale’s point man.
“Yeah, it wasn’t something I volunteered for,” Lively said.
Now, after protecting world leaders, celebrities and likely millions of fans for two Super Bowls, a decade of Cardinals games, Fiesta Bowls and soccer matches, Lively’s handing command over to someone else.
“Everybody knows they’re going to do a fantastic job out there,” Lively said. “They won’t notice that I’m not there, quite honestly.”
Assistant Chief St. John disagrees.
“You can’t replace a guy like that,” St. John said.
Lively plans to spend retirement helping his parents, working in the backyard and volunteering for the Exploring program, which is a Boy Scouts of America affiliate that he says helped start his career as a police officer.
“It’s been a great career,” Lively said. “If anybody is interested in it, we’re always hiring.”
