Why Matt? Matt: Yes sir. Dave Walker, his long time friend and colleague since the mid-90s. You have to deal with death, loss, and tragedy. He also enjoys piloting small aircrafts. Frazier: My fondest memories of Jenks are playing in the Frank Herald Gym. event.preventDefault(); ShaynnaSims was initially freed in late 2021 based on the U.S. Supreme Courts July 2020 McGirt ruling. As a police officer I could make a difference in our community. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Matt Frazier - Homicide Detective for Tulsa Police Department Matt Frazier was a star on the court during his time as a Trojan and earned himself a college basketball scholarship. Frazier: Coach Scott Padek and the rest of the basketball coaching staff made a huge impression on my life. It's been 4 years now since you made the move from Homicide Detective, and some might say a TV star, to top Sales Executive at Stryker. Walker follows up with the rhetorical question: Well, whats a cop going to think when you run? - Maj. Jacob Fuchs (USAF), Where Are They Now? They helped me develop a work ethic to make me successful on the court and off the court. You had NO sales experience. Brown was inspired to become a police officer by his brother. Walker spoke Tuesday afternoon at a meeting of the Mayors Police and Community Coalition in City Hall about just that opening the lines of communication between the police and community specifically with disenfranchised minority populations. document.getElementById("closeModal").addEventListener("click", function(event) { It did get old though. Were there because something bad has happened, and they know it. Being the son of a California Highway Patrolman, Det. Jeff Gatwood has always enjoyed helping people, which led him to a career in law enforcement for the past 27 years. His interest in homicide came from a high profile case he saw in the news when he was young. The Homicide Unit annually touted high solve rates. Kennedy says, the excitement of the job and serving the public is what made me want to be a homicide detective. Kennedy doesnt mind the pressures of his job because he knows how important it is to his community. Detective Rob McCoy joined Tulsa PD in July 1997. A great lesson for those out there thinking of a career transition. Det. Trash is trash in any unit. The first Q&A is with Matt Frazier, a 1998 Jenks grad and a homicide detective for the Tulsa Police Department. When you were with.. (to be continued if you all want. The jury found that the Tulsa County jail's private medical provider care at the time violated the civil rights of inmate Gwendolyn Young. In a homicide the victim cant speak. Max Ryden is a 20-year veteran of the Tulsa PD where he spent 10 years working the Burglary and Robbery Units before joining Homicide in 2017. I didn't want to tell family members that their loved ones are dead anymore. Previously, Matthew was a Homicide Detective at Tulsa Police Read More Matthew Frazier's Phone Number and Email Last Update 11/20/2022 9:03 PM Email m***@stryker.com Engage via Email Contact Number (***) ***-**** Engage via Phone Mobile Number (***) ***-**** The First 48: Tulsa Homicide Is Keeping the A&E Series Alive By Brittany Frederick Published Jan 29, 2022 The First 48 has featured Tulsa Homicide since 2015, and without Tulsa's dedicated detectives, the hit true crime series isn't the same. They taught me that nothing in life will be free or easy. He takes pride in making a positive difference in a crazy world. He enjoys putting together the puzzle pieces of a homicide investigation and figuring out who the suspect is. They are very easy to work with during our investigations. Det. Now he is a Lieutenant, overseeing officers on patrol in the Gilcrease Division, also known as GID. After a stint in on partrol, Watkins moved to the Detective Division, where he worked in Child Crisis, Burglary, and Armed Robbery Units before moving to lead the Homicide Unit. I could empathize with people who have been through tragic or life altering experiences. In November 2021, McCoy left Homicide and Tulsa PD to become a Crime and Intelligence Analyst. He now works in Patrol Riverside Division of Tulsa PD. He worked as a Crime Scene Detective for six years prior to joining Homicide two years ago. Dianna Baumann retired from Tulsa Police Department in May 2017. Frazier: In police work there are always victims. He met his wife, Nicole, while he was a strength coach for the Colorado Rockies. Was there one particular person at JHS who inspired you or made a lasting impact in your life? Retiring lead homicide detective credits 'The First 48' for helping Tulsans 'see us as people,' develop trust. But I want those to know that it wasn't just a thought, I had also made that decision to move in my heart and head, and I think it's important to remember. Of course I entertained it more and more and discussed among my colleagues for the rest of the trip but that was pretty much the decision point that brought me to where I am now. Mark Kennedy has been with Tulsa Homicide since 2006. He is married, and he and his wife enjoy the company of a son and a daughter. It was actually a good fit cause Stryker is in the business of helping people after catastrophic events - losing a limb is a hard pill to swallow. Dianna Baumann joined Homicide so she could help people, but says, I get excited to catch bad guys, too. Before she transferred Homicide in 2010, she spent seventeen years in patrol and five years working in Child Crisis. Me: Thanks again - now let's get on to the down and dirty on all those police units you worked with! He said lost generations whether due to poverty, drug addiction, lack of education, etc. If you seen the one episode about Larry DouglasI meanevil is all I can say. Breezy, with a north wind 15 to 20 mph increasing to 25 to 30 mph after midnight. As Staff Page Only Me: In the 12 years, what was your favorite unit of the police force you worked with? In late June 2016 I was backpacking in New Mexico when it hit me. Me: Wow. Northeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Matt: I'm at a football tryout, a "combine" as some call it, for my son who was in grade 6. Before his career in law enforcement, Det. According to Brown, the best and most challenging part of a homicide investigation is interviewing a suspect and getting him to confess to his crime; getting inside a killers mind.. } He and his wife Nicole have two boys, Bryce (12), and Cooper (10). That is what the victims and their families deserve. Matt: (laughing) Absolutely feeling anxious about it. Frazier: I wanted to make a difference. She enjoys closing cases and helping to offer some closure to the victims families. All Rights Reserved. document.querySelector("#bioModal .bio-section").innerHTML = bio; I think its very important that they see us as people, not as somebody coming into their neighborhood trying to run roughshod over them, Walker said after the meeting. A proud father of two, Frazier spends much of his free time at his childrens sporting events. I was assigned to the Uniform Division North midnight patrol shift. What are your fondest memories of attending Jenks High School? After attending Oral Roberts University on a basketball scholarship, Matt worked as a spring training strength and conditioning coach for the Colorado Rockies. Taking an inventory so to speak. That was the trigger point that you asked for. I just knew that it was not the with police force. Det. He noted that the city didnt burn after the controversial police killing of unarmed Terence Crutcher in 2016. Learn more in our Cookie Policy. If we all had to work each case as one person our solve rate would take a huge dive. And that's pretty much how she handled it. Display: Matthew Frazier played basketball at Oral Robert University. That was late June 2016 and 3 months later I would be at Styker starting a new career as a sales executive. This button displays the currently selected search type. var bio = liElement[0] ? Me: Did Homicide maybe be the tipping point though? Justin Ritter was promoted to Corporal before leaving Homicide in February 2019. And he did, Walker said. Were you nervous? It wasnt case-breaking, but it was communication-breaking. He played hockey and baseball for many years and now still enjoys watching sports to relax. The victim told police that he and his girlfriend had been walking from the front of an apartment building in the 300 block of East 11th Stree. An interview with Matt Frazier from the hit TV show "The First 48" on his career transition from Homicide Detective to top Sales Executive. 27, 2020 at 8:38 PM PDT MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A former Memphis homicide detective with a reputation for outsmarting the bad guys is the latest victim of COVID-19 in the community. She always was supportive and said she would be by my side all the years we were together in anything we do. Walker handed him a flag to mark the spot at the tipsters discretion. I'm biting at the chomp to get to details of your time with the police force, but I want to first focus on your career transition to a Sales executive. Frazier loves the outdoors and enjoys mountain biking, road cycling and backpacking with friends and family. How do you feel about yourself and the Tulsa Police Department being portrayed on a show like the First 48? The 36-year Tulsa police veterans final day before retirement is Aug. 31. Matt: It's the old saying of "it's not necessarily WHAT you know, but WHO you know.". I was always selling something in every unit that I worked for. Det. Why did you want to work inthe homicide department? Before joining Homicide in 2011, he worked extensively in many different units including Patrol, Narcotics, Burglary, Robbery, and SWAT. Me: What's great too Matt is that I don't have to change your quote in the headline picture of this article - you were able to take that with you as well! Walker says that even. He has always had a will to protect. Working in homicide, he fully devotes himself to the singular cause of justice for the victim and their families. 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Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. Dave Walker spoke Tuesday afternoon at a meeting of the Mayor's Police and Community Coalition at City Hall about just that opening the lines of communication What was the trigger to even start to contemplate such a move? Frazier: It has been really fun working with the show. }); Get the latest on new episodes, bonus content, exclusive articles and more. I had 2 young kids who could now watch the show and after 12 years with the forceI don't knowI felt I had a choice to pivot cause I believed I was young enough to make a transition. Lieutenant Brandon Watkins joined the Tulsa Police Department in July 1997. He trained many notable players Matt Holiday, Ubaldo Jimenez, Todd Helton, Larry Walker during his time in the big leagues, and went on to become a personal trainer before joining TPD in 2004. How challenging are those aspects of your job and how do you stay positive? Michael Zenoni retired from Tulsa Police Department in August 2019. function showModal(event, element) { IAN MAULE/Tulsa World. Switching industries is always a big task that requires enormous courage and faith to make that leap. Set as Default Template You can update your choices at any time in your settings. document.getElementById("bioModal").className = "modal modal-show"; What separates a homicide detective who gets results and solves cases from one who doesnt? Standing in a secluded north Tulsa backyard, Sgt. Since then he has worked his way through various departments, such as Burglary and the Cyber Crimes Unit, before landing in the Homicide Unit in September 2020. Where did he move? Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. I thought about it, and 3 months later I was somewhere else. Midway through the week we are walking up a mountain side and I'm up ahead of the pack by myself and I start doing a review of my life. Bad people doing bad things. Walker believes that family is very important to an investigator. I will always cherish those memories along with the relationships with teachers and life-long friends that were made over my time at Jenks High School. LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. Updated: Jul. The ability to talk to anyone - children, men, women, rich, poor, hard, soft - is huge as well. I wanted to have a hand in giving my children and everyone else in the community a safer place to grow and succeed. Walker said community and spiritual leaders have done well to help foster communication and restraint in trying situations. Often before a game he would talk to the officers at the stadium about what it was like to be a police officer. I immediately reached out to Matt to ask if he would talk about his transition to see if there are lessons learned that can be of insight to anyone thinking of a career switch. I thanked him and chatted a bit with him and for some reason, has to be karma I think, he asked me if I ever thought of doing something else. Matt has been featured several times on the hit television series The First 48 on A&E. Hes teaching several 4- and 5-year-olds baseball skills a couple of times a week. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World, Tulsa Police Sgt. Dave Walker handed a tipster a small flag used to mark evidence and told the man to do what he needed to do. Northeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. He loves working in Homicide because every investigation is unique. Merritt had an uncanny knack for catching killers. Warren believes in leaving work at work, and does not bring it home with him. Matthew Frazier is a Regional Sales Manager at Stryker based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Walker has served as lead homicide detective since 2011. Theyve seen us. What happened? 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Det. Professionally I will keep plugging along and take my cases as they come, work hard, and hopefully make a difference in this community. With the Drug unit, I had to persuade people to sell me drugs. Weather forecast provided by weather.gov. And it just hit me: I didn't want to deal with the trash anymore. Me: So not even a thought to go back to one of those units? Det. He says, I love the freedom to chase down bad guys instead of being stuck at a desk all day.. He has received numerous medals for his outstanding police work, including a Medal of Valor for a fire rescue in 1987, a Chiefs Medal for leading a violent crime task force and a medal for leading an extensive federal narcotics investigation. Detective Matt Frazier left the department for "greener pastures," according to Walker. He worked five years in the Gang Unit and eight years in Robbery, where he gained knowledge that has been instrumental to his developing career. Jason White was drawn to law enforcement since he was a child. Map of Jenks High School and Freshman Academy, Transcript Requests/Graduation Verification. I am a general assignment reporter who predominately writes about public health, public safety and justice reform. A common refrain for him is that police must win the 6-year-olds.. He says, Homicide is more of a lifestyle as opposed to a job.. You have to use your skills and knowledge to solve that crime and ultimately speak for the victim in the end. Sometimes it comes down to what you can trust in your gut and how you read people. 15+ years in Start-up Recruitment. In my business I talk . New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. In 1994 Detective Brown received of a Medal of Valor for an act of outstanding bravery while working as an undercover investigator in VICE. Inspired to help out in the community, Frazier joined the Tulsa PD where he worked for ten years before joining the Homicide Unit in 2014. I carry that work ethic with me today as a homicide detective. I believe it was my calling. He strives to seek justices for families, even in this challenging career choice. In the Gang unit, I had to sell myself that I was a Gangbanger. On September 26, 2016 Detective Frazier decided to step away from the Tulsa Police Department to pursue another opportunity outside of law enforcement. The unit under Walker is credited with a clearance rate of 98 percent. I often wonder what would motivate someone to do so? Frazier: I think that we as a Tulsa Police Department are so successful in solving our cases because we attack every case as a team, as a unit. 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