Matthew Sparks was a probational officer at the Los Angeles Police Department.
History[]
Early Life[]
Matthew Sparks' father was a con man and Sparks wanted to be a police officer to chase that same rush. He was the top of his class at the police academy.
Riding With Athena[]
After Athena pulls her hamstring in the field, Captain Elaine Maynard assigns Officer Sparks to ride with her, despite the fact that Athena does not ride with rookies.
Officer Sparks is able to track down a suspect, FlashRob, on the internet, and Athena and Sparks go to his place of work. FlashRob tries to make an escape in a delivery truck, and Sparks grabs onto the back of the truck as he drives off. Athena, Sparks, and FlashRob engage in a car chase all the while Sparks is still holding onto the back of the truck. Sparks performs a risky maneuver by climbing on top of and into the truck, pointing a gun at FlashRob and telling him to pull over. While officers at the scene applaud Sparks, Athena is concerned that he is not a police officer for the correct reasons. Captain Elaine Manard moves Sparks to ride with Officer Vargas.
Riding With Vargas[]
While riding with Officer Vargas, Sparks and he pull over a mother who refuses to cooperate. The mother calls 911 and Maddie answers, and is confused that the men bothering her are officers. Athena arrives on scene and advises Sparks to settle and attempts to warn him not the break the car window. After getting the car open open againsts the mother's will, Sparks accidentally pulls his gun out while reaching for his taser. Sparks is seen at the end of the episode going into a court hearing and it is stated that while the mother survived, the LAPD will have to pay her a large settlement.
Impact[]
Despite her rough time with Sparks, Athena learned a valuable lesson from him: she is needed to help train the next generation of the LAPD. She requests Captain Elaine Maynard to assign her rookies to ride with.
Appearances[]
| Season Eight | |||||
| "Buzzkill" | "When the Boeing Gets Tough..." | "Final Approach" | "No Place Like Home" | "Masks" | "Confessions" |
| "Hotshots" | "Wannabes" | "Sob Stories" | "Voices" | "Holy Mother of God" | "Disconnected" |
| "Invisible" | "Sick Day" | "Lab Rats" | "The Last Alarm" | "Don't Drink The Water" | "Seismic Shifts" |