GLENDALE, AZ — The Glendale Police officer, who’s under FBI investigation for repeatedly tasing a handcuffed man, once was punished for putting an occupied bus of people at risk during at a dangerous scene, according to records obtained by ABC15.
ABUSE OF FORCE: Body cam video shows man tased 11 times by Glendale police
A 2005 performance review for Officer Matthew Schneider shows that he was disciplined for the incident. But his supervisor, Sgt. Rick St. John, who’s now Glendale’s police chief, wrote praise in the same review for “thinking outside the box.”
"This past 6 months, you received a sustained complaint involving the use of an occupied school bus at the scene of a potentially dangerous situation. This was a clear violation of our policies and procedures for handling the public and keeping them at a safe distance while investigating hazardous situations. Though the complaint was sustained, you were also commended for your efforts in thinking ‘outside the box.’ It is this type of thinking that keeps the Department moving in a positive direction.” according to the review.
Additional details about the school bus incident or Schneider’s discipline were not included in his personnel file.
Internal investigations older than five years are often purged from officers’ files.
However, after ABC15 broke the story about Schneider’s tasing incident, multiple people provided ABC15 information about Schneider “commandeering” a school bus during a police incident.
The department declined to comment on any questions regarding Schneider, citing a federal lawsuit filed against him.
But Schneider’s personnel file shows that his supervisors have repeatedly praised him for continuously having one of the department’s highest arrest counts and being a “bloodhound for criminals.”
RELATED: Officer Matthew Schneider has a history of suspensions and discipline
Schneider’s file also shows that he has been separately disciplined at least six different times for using excessive force, workplace harassment, insubordination, improper destruction of a citizen’s personal property, and unbecoming conduct.
Contact ABC15 Investigator Dave Biscobing at dave@abc15.com.
