Roll of Honor
Biography
On August 8, 2008, Officer Matthew Hooten died by suicide after two years of service. Matthew graduated from Hanford High School, attended Delta College where he worked for their security force and later graduated from the Police Academy in Yuba City. He was with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department at the time of his death where he had received a letter of commendation for saving a life. According to his mother, Diane, “Matt was such a smart young man. He was so young when he died, he wasn’t able to achieve many goals except becoming a law enforcement officer. Even as a small child he drew uniforms and police equipment on the characters in his books. In high school, Matt was the editor of the school paper, on the debate team and part of the cadet program. Matt loved history and politics. He was always kind to everyone and loved to share his music and funny video finds with me. I wish he had realized how much he was loved by so many people.” After Matt died, Diane went back to school and got her MS in Counseling, became part of the Tulare/ Kings Suicide Task Force, an ASIST trainer and part of the LOSS team. Matt’s mother was able to use her experience to passionately save lives and train others.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-93976E56- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Matthew. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
Officer Matthew Hooten served with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department.
Thank you for your service. We will always remember your sacrifice.
You belong on this wall. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Matthew Hooten is one of 256 officers honored for deaths connected to the weight of the job across the full record of this memorial — 0.8% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In CA, 17 of 1,837 officers were honored for deaths connected to the weight of the job — 0.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0.8%.
National Cause Distribution
How Suicide compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Matthew Hooten's cause is highlighted.
How Matthew Hooten Compares
When Suicide Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Suicide deaths across the full memorial record. Matthew Hooten is highlighted in Aug.