Promotion To Lieutenant Is Latest New Assignment For Veteran Police Officer
Tuesday, January 20th, 2026
Nearly 25 years ago, Matthew Lowery started his career in public safety with the Dalton Police Department. He's being promoted to the rank of lieutenant this week, after a career that has seen him play many roles in the agency. When he first considered public service, however, the plan was to be across the street.
"When I was still in high school trying to figure out what to do in life, I was in the fire department's version (of the explorer cadet program)," Lowery said. "Initially I thought that was the route that I was gonna go, into the fire department. Then I took a job at the age of 19 with the Whitfield County 911 Center where I got exposed to the other public safety agencies, and I thought that policing was a lot more interesting... So, I decided to apply for the Dalton PD and here we are."
Caption: Lt. Matthew Lowery (left) poses with Chief Cliff Cason after being presented for promotion at Tuesday morning's meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission
That decision led to an ever-changing career in law enforcement. Lowery began his career with a decade as a patrol officer, including serving as a field training officer for new recruits. From there, he moved into the police department's now-defunct Situational Response Unit, working on drug interdiction and gang activity. From there, he moved into the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) as a detective for seven years. Briefly, he served as the department's training coordinator before his promotion to the rank of sergeant in 2019. He worked for two years as a patrol supervisor before his most recent assignment overseeing the detectives of the department's Drug Enforcement Unit. Through all of his different assignments, Lowery's focus has been on service.
"I wouldn't say any of (my assignments) are my favorite, but I have learned a lot about the agency by being in each of those positions," Lowery said. "They all have different aspects of what we all got into the job for. It was fun, but we're also serving a purpose."
"Lowery brings a lot to the table because he has served in 3 out of the department's 4 divisions," DPD Chief Cliff Cason said. "Having been in Support Services, Patrol, and CID, he ties all of those skill sets together and can answer questions about everything from the budgeting process to career development, and having him as a shift lieutenant, when we have major cases, he's worked those in CID. So he can make sure that we get things right on the front end with these younger officers and even newer sergeants to make it a more efficient process where we don't miss things that we should have done on a canvas or other things, because he knows how all that's done. He brings those skill sets back to patrol with him."
Through all of Lowery's various assignments, he's focused on the purpose of making Dalton a better and safer place.
"I think we are, for lack of a better term, a guardian of the community. I think we're there to serve a purpose and do what we can for the betterment of our community," Lowery continued. "I think all of us do that to the best of our ability. And we understand that we're part of the community... we're there to work alongside people, get information from the community so that we can do our jobs better, and vice versa, give information to them so that they're safer."
Lowery's promotion to the rank of lieutenant was recognized at Tuesday morning's meeting of Dalton's Public Safety Commission. Lowery says that he's looking forward to taking a "bigger picture" view of leadership for the department.
"We're still giving direct supervision to the officers, but we have more of that big picture view, so to speak. where we're looking at overall policy and procedure compliance." Lowery said. "Just making sure that everybody's kind of got their proverbial i’s dotted and their t’s crossed when it comes to professionalism for the agency."
In his free time, Lowery says he enjoys scuba diving, hiking, and Cross-Fit. He also prizes spending time with his family.
"Like most everybody else in the community, I'm a parent, so I have some investment in what happens as a byproduct of our society. I want to make sure that my kids are raised up in the safest community that can be," he said. "My passions are making sure that people are safe and that I'm serving a purpose."
Lowery's 25th anniversary with police department is coming up in July. There have been good days and bad days, but as he climbs to the next stage of his career, he doesn't regret choosing a patrol car instead of a fire truck.
"I've been fortunate in my career to have a ton of, I feel, positive impact on different situations, whether that be bringing somebody a resolution on a case where I was the main detective or simply being in the right place at the right time to help save somebody's life," Lowery said. "I'm happy with what I do, where I'm at, and being able to serve in the way that I am."
