HOUSTON – KPRC 2 Investigates has learned that Matt Slinkard, the executive chief for the Houston Police Department, is moving on to pursue new opportunities outside of the department.
Slinkard, longtime partner of Police Chief Troy Finner, has worked for HPD for 29 years.
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According to his biography on LinkedIn, Slinkard began his career with HPD in 1994, graduating as the honor cadet from his academy class. He served as an officer for seven years then was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2001. From there, he rose the ranks, promoted to lieutenant in 2004, commander in 2009 and assistant chief in 2011.
He became executive assistant chief in 2017, then upgraded again to his most recent position as executive chief in 2021.
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Over the last 29 years, Slinkard has served in and commanded numerous divisions within Field, Investigative, Special, and Support Operations. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the FBI National Academy Associates, and the Police Executive Research Forum.
Slinkard is a graduate of the 232nd Session of the FBI National Academy, a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership Institute (PELI), and a graduate of the National Executive Institute (NEI).
He holds a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Sam Houston State University, a Master Peace Officer License in the State of Texas and is a certified Texas Commission on Law Enforcement instructor. He has also served as the Department’s Chief of Staff.
As the executive chief, Slinkard has served as the representative on a host of committees and major projects involving public safety that are integral to the success of HPD and the City of Houston.
He has been instrumental in planning for and overseeing police operations in response to numerous special events in Houston and served as Public Safety Chair and Incident Commander for the NCAA Final Four and COPA Soccer Tournaments. He was also the Department’s Incident Commander for Super Bowl LI operations.
Slinkard has been married for 27 years; his wife is a former educator, and together they have two sons.