Lansing, MI - Michigan communities will soon benefit from the addition of 59 state troopers who graduated this morning from the 142nd Trooper Recruit School.
During the ceremony in Lansing, in which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was the keynote speaker, Col. Joe Gasper, director of the Michigan State Police (MSP), administered the Oath of Office to 59 individuals who begin their assignments at MSP posts across the state next week.
“The Michigan State Police is one of the nation’s premier law enforcement agencies, and I am so proud of the 59 Michiganders in the 142nd Trooper Recruit School for joining their ranks,” said Governor Whitmer. “As a former prosecutor, public safety will always be a core issue for me, and I will work with anyone to bring down crime and build up our communities. I am so grateful to the sacrifices our law enforcement officers make every day to keep us safe. Together, let’s keep families safe as they go to work, drop their kids off at school, or run errands in their neighborhood.”
The 142nd Trooper Recruit School began on Sunday, June 26, 2022, with 85 prospective troopers, at the MSP Training Academy in Lansing. Recruits received training in patrol techniques, report writing, ethics, cultural diversity and implicit bias, decision making, leadership, first aid, criminal law, crime scene processing, firearms, water safety, defensive tactics and precision driving.
Tpr. Matthew Patercsak was elected Class Orator by his fellow recruits and spoke on behalf of the graduating class at their ceremony. Recognized during the ceremony was Tpr. Kevin Brown who received the Outstanding Performance, Physical Fitness and Marksmanship awards, Tpr. Shiloh LaButte who received the Team Building Award and Tpr. Gavin Lamarche who received the Academic Achievement Award.
“We welcome our 59 newest troopers with the confidence that they will continue our tradition of service,” said Col. Joe Gasper, director of the MSP. “The standard we subscribe to as members of the Michigan State Police is to treat all those you encounter with dignity and respect, always. These newest troopers represent not only the future of the MSP, but the future of policing, and I’m confident the work they will do day-in and day-out will help to raise the standards of our industry.”
Including the 59 graduates of the 142nd Trooper Recruit School, there are approximately 1,192 troopers assigned statewide, and a total of 1,888 enlisted members in the MSP.
The next recruit school, the 143rd Trooper Recruit School, is anticipated to begin on January 22, 2023, at the MSP Training Academy in Lansing. They are expected to graduate on June 9, 2023.
With hundreds of trooper vacancies due to continued attrition, the MSP is actively recruiting for future trooper recruit schools, including the 144th Trooper Recruit School, slated to begin July 9, 2023. Persons interested in learning more should visit www.michigan.gov/MSPjobs or information on how to apply.