Meet Robert Scantlebury.

To Serve, Protect & Defend.

I grew up in Norwalk, California, in a home built in 1879, by my great, great grandfather, John Paddison. My mother and father, Margaret & Bob Scantlebury, now retired, were small business owners, and successfully retained and preserved the original family homestead as a location for weddings, corporate parties, and commercial filming. I grew up with one younger brother, Eddie, now a firefighter engineer for the City of Los Angeles. I graduated from Leffingwell Christian High School, Cypress Community College, and California State University, Fullerton, with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. I was recruited to work for the Mesa Police Department in 1992 while I was working as a Community Service Officer for the California State University Fullerton Police Department. I was excited to relocate to Mesa to have the opportunity to start my career as a Police Officer and be able to afford to live in the community I would serve.

I was hired as a Mesa Police Officer in September of 1992. I worked in the Mesa Holding Facility for a few months until a spot opened up for me in the Phoenix Regional Academy class #247.

During my career, I served as a police officer, a special investigations detective, a patrol sergeant, a school intelligence detective, and a detective sergeant. I retired from the department in January of 2018, after 25 years of service. I was frequently asked to represent the police department at neighborhood meetings and work on community projects because I lived in the neighborhood and I saw things from the citizens’ perspective and I understood their concerns.  

My assignments included the Community Action Team, Bicycle Patrol, and the Street Crimes Unit. I was SWAT trained and served on the Special Crimes Apprehension Team, and the Violent Offenders Unit. I also represented the department as the Chairman of the Mesa Prevention Alliance working on youth alcohol prevention with Community Bridges.

After I retired, I continued serving as a volunteer Reserve Police Officer until the department discontinued the program in 2020. One of my most frequent jobs as a reserve officer was filling in as a School Resource Officer and School Intelligence Detective when the regular officer was away from the school. I loved my job and have always felt I had a calling to protect and stand up for others.

Since being fully retired from the police department, I started and currently operate a small business, Little American Tractor Service. I also serve as a school board member for a nonprofit school, Step-up School in my neighborhood. My wife Heather is a Mesa native and we’ve been married for 23 years! Together, we have raised two daughters, Ryley and Robyn.