The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mayfield swears in new Chief
Paul Matias looking forward to engaging community, moving police department forward
Paul Matias refers to it as his 30-year plan.
And last month, at his official swearing-in ceremony, Mayfield Village’s new police chief saw his plan come full cycle.
Although his journey from high school graduate to Navy veteran to police patrolman to sergeant to chief took three decades, the 48-year-old Mayfield Heights native is happy to be doing what he loves in the community he grew up in.
“I’ve always joked about how long it took,” Matias said, “but the great thing is, my ‘plan’ didn’t deviate as much as you’d think. I’ve been quite fortunate in all of my professional pursuits, and that includes my 10year stint in the U. S. Navy.”
Matias’ family has a rich military tradition, something that happily motivated him to enlist. However, his passion for law enforcement, which he’s had since he “was a kid,” is a trail he’s blazed all his own, beginning in 1999.
After making the decision
“We have a good group of officers with a variety of backgrounds and we all enjoy working in this community...” — Mayfield Village Chief of Police Paul Matias
that his time in the service was up, he decided to commit fully to becoming a police officer and began looking for a job. It initially led him to a security position, but, taking civil service tests, Matias ended up enrolling in and graduating from the Cleveland Heights Police Academy.
“Part of my Navy benefits, the G.I. Bill, covered tuition for the academy,” he said. “Not long after finishing, though I applied all over. Mayfield Village was one of the cities giving their tests. A few months later, they were hiring. The timing was nice and I was lucky because I was ready to go to work and I started at a part-time patrolman.”
Twenty years later, Matias, who holds his master’s degree from Tiffin University, was appointed chief of police by Mayor Brenda Bodnar, on Feb. 11, succeeding Richard Edelman, who served in the role since June 2011.
Matias is now the sixth chief in department history. He oversees a staff of 36 officers, plus K-9 Leo, in addition to administrators and dispatch personnel.
During his extensive career, Matias has served on the detective bureau, as school resource officer, field training officer, and has been a member of the regional bomb squad for 16 years.
Matias said he never set out to ascend to the position of chief.
“I’m extremely proud I was selected from a competitive group of four absolutely qualified candidates, however, it was never a main goal, per se, for me to one day become chief,” he said. “I never had my sights on it. I just wanted to continue to serve, learn and be involved so if an opportunity ever presented itself, I could perhaps compete for the position.
“I’ve known people who work 20-plus years as patrolmen and retire, never seeking advancement, and that’s fine, that’s dedication,” Matias said. “Plus, becoming chief isn’t something you spend a lot of time thinking about when you serving in a smaller department, where there is typically no big margin of turnover.”
Matias, who lives in Eastlake with his wife, Josephine, remains especially appreciative to his previous chiefs who were very receptive to giving him opportunities to participate in various programs, which he said have been instrumental in his educational and professional development.
“The support has been tremendously important to making me a better police officer in every respect,” Matias said, adding that the village is growing. “Our department is in pretty good shape. I’m not coming in and taking over problems.
“And looking forward, I want to continue to expand community engagement and conduct programs, like disaster preparedness,” he added. “We want our officers interacting with the community, getting out of the patrol cars and meeting people.
“We have a good group of officers with a variety of backgrounds and we all enjoy working in this community, which helps make my job easier,” Matias said. “That’s what keeps the momentum going. A lot of people work very hard to make Mayfield Village what it is, including our fire and recreation departments, our residents, and our council, and I’m very happy to be a part of that. This is home.”
Bodnar believes the department’s transition will be a smooth one, and she applauded Matias’ diverse range of responsibilities throughout his career.
“I am confident that Chief Matias will lead our police department with strength, intelligence, wisdom, cutting edge knowledge and a genuine desire to keep Mayfield Village and our police officers safe and protected,” she said. “He has earned the respect of his department, as well as of the administration and the village.”