August 25, 2020

EMPHASIS: Captain Matthew C. Walz Retires

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces the following retirement:

Captain Matthew C. Walz, director of the Water Patrol Division, will retire on September 1, 2020, after over 30 years of dedicated service.

Walz was appointed to the Missouri State Water Patrol on April 30, 1990, as a communications operator. He entered the Water Patrol Academy on January 2, 1994. After graduating, Walz was assigned to Lake of the Ozarks. He transferred to Table Rock Lake on February 3, 1997. On May 1, 2000, he was promoted to corporal and assigned to St. Louis County. Walz was promoted to sergeant on September 1, 2001, and assigned to the Lake of the Ozarks. He was promoted to captain and designated training commander at the Water Patrol General Headquarters in Jefferson City, on September 1, 2005. Walz transferred to the Lake of the Ozarks on November 1, 2005, as district commander over the Central Missouri Region.

On January 1, 2011, Capt. Walz transferred to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F Headquarters, Jefferson City. On January 1, 2015, he transferred to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Water Patrol Division, General Headquarters. Capt. Walz also served on the National Boating Safety Advisory Council, which advises the U.S. Coast Guard on recreational boating safety issues. He was designated director of the Water Patrol Division effective July 1, 2016. As the director, he served as Missouri's state boating law administrator.

Capt. Walz grew up in Jefferson City, and graduated from Jefferson City High School in 1984. He served four years in the U.S. Army. Capt. Walz has two grown children.

A photo is available with this news release on the Patrol’s website.

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