Phoenix Police Honors Legacy of 620 West Washington as Previous Headquarters Officially Closes

Phoenix - After more than 50 years of service, city leaders, staff, and current and former police officers gathered to formally close the Phoenix Police Department’s longtime headquarters at 620 West Washington Street.

The building originally opened in 1975 under the leadership of Police Chief Lawrence Wetzel, the first in a line of chiefs who would shape the department from within its concrete walls. Over the decades that followed, 11 additional police chiefs — including acting and interim leaders — worked from the building, guiding Phoenix policing through periods of rapid growth, shifting demands and significant change.

“620 was more than a headquarters — it was a cornerstone of our work and our identity. I first walked into this building as an applicant, hoping for the chance to serve like hundreds of others. Now, as we move forward we all carry the foundation this building gave us, its history, its lessons and its spirit,” Police Chief Matthew Giordano said.

During its half century of operation, the headquarters housed the Chief’s Staff, investigative bureaus, ballistics and crime labs, interrogation rooms and other units central to daily police work. Generations of officers came through its doors, starting their careers, solving cases and carrying out the work of public safety in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities.

The facility formally closed under Chief Giordano in 2026, marking the end of a building that had not only supported the department but helped define its identity. During the decommissioning ceremony, city leaders presented the Phoenix Police Museum with the building’s original “Phoenix Police Headquarters” sign that adorned the front of the building — a relic that greeted officers, visitors and employees for decades.

As a final tribute, Phoenix Police Reserve Commander Henry Cusson placed a chain and lock on the front door — a symbolic gesture made more poignant by the fact that he the longest standing peace officer in the state of Arizona and was serving as an officer when 620 first became headquarters. His act, witnessed by colleagues past and present, sealed the building that had shaped generations of policing and countless personal stories over more than five decades.