Deputy Police Chief Matthew MacKenzie is a trained observer. It’s a skill he’s honed throughout his career and it led to a new one.

Law enforcement wasn’t on his mind when he graduated from Central Michigan University, where he majored in both psychology and criminal justice, while playing baseball for the Chips for two years.

After graduation, Deputy Chief MacKenzie was a counselor for a juvenile state treatment center for two years and a juvenile probation officer for three years. With his time at the Livingston County Circuit Court, he began observing and then interacting with police officers on a daily basis. The more encounters he had, the more interested he became about pursuing a career in law enforcement, something that he had never considered before.

To test the waters, he became a reserve police officer for Northville Township in 2001. In 2002, he graduated from the Wayne County Regional Policy Academy and was hired permanently by Northville Township Police.

His career achievements include serving as a school resource officer, a bike patrol officer, a detective, a SWAT team leader, a field training officer supervisor, a sergeant in charge of road patrol and a firearms instructor, a post he has had for 16 years.

Before being promoted to Deputy Chief in January 2023, his rank was Detective Sergeant, a role he held since 2020.

In this capacity, he supervised personnel assigned to the Support Services Division, the Records Department, the Ordinance Department, the Incident Support Team, as well as the Department’s specialty roles: the crime analyst, the school resource officer, the community resource officer and the FBI Task Force officer. He also reviewed and assigned cases to detectives, oversaw case management and was the liaison with the media.

Deputy Chief MacKenzie enjoys mentoring; he will play a key role in developing the Department’s staff for future success. 

He’s a lifelong learner himself. He regularly devours the latest leadership books. This pairs well with his master’s degree in organizational leadership and administration from Concordia University.

Deputy Chief MacKenzie also has attended multiple FBI development courses, FEMA Emergency Management classes and Michigan State University School of Staff and Command, among others.