Born and raised in Flagstaff, Sedona Police officer Matt Tanner knows his way around Northern Arizona.

He’s also a familiar face in Sedona to youth in the area, having served as the school resource officer at West Sedona School for two years.

“I’ve never done more preventative law enforcement in my life than I did with the 6- to 13-year-olds,” Tanner said. “You get to help them and let them talk to someone they can trust. Unfortunately they lost that funding, because the state had to pull back on grants. There’s a [resource officer] at the high school, but not at West Sedona School.”

Tanner works as a patrol officer for the Sedona Police Department. In August, he will celebrate seven years with the force. Tanner attended high school in Flagstaff and attended classes at Northern Arizona University for three years prior to accepting a job with the Sedona PD. He’s currently attending American Military University.

“They have a really good criminal justice program,” Tanner said.

He’s also an expecting father, with a baby on the way in December.

Tanner said he hopes to turn his seven years on the force into a full 20 years.

“I decided, if I am going to be a cop, I’d like to be a cop in Sedona,” Tanner said. “Today, even in the private industry, it’s bizarre to stay someplace for more than five to seven years at a time. But, if you’re going to be a police officer, this is the place to do it. The job is tough and it’s demanding, but the job here in Sedona, because we’re a small town, you get to do the follow-ups and you get to see how things turned out better.”

Aside from his work with the Sedona Police Department, Tanner loves being outside. An avid gardener, he grows a number of vegetables at various times of the year. Tanner also owns two cows.

“In the cooler seasons you do lettuce, radish, onions, stuff like that. In the hotter season you do the tomatoes, the squash and things like that,” Tanner said of his garden.

He’s currently moving to Cornville, where he plans to expand his crop.

Sedona Police Department Cmdr. Ron Wheeler said the time Tanner spent as school resource officer proved beneficial to both the school district and the police department. Tanner, he said, has become one of the more seasoned officers on the force.

“It’s fairly common for us to be on scene somewhere and have some young kids come up and say hi to officer Tanner and start talking to him. I think that’s great, because as kids grow older they will know Matt. It’s a face they recognize and they see all over town. It builds a good relationship between Matt, the students and the community.”