Montana Highway Patrol

Last updated
Montana Highway Patrol
Montana Highway Patrol.jpg
Patch of Montana Highway Patrol
AbbreviationMHP
Agency overview
Formed1935;89 years ago (1935)
Employees294 (as of 2014) [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionMontana, USA
MT - MHP Districts.jpg
Montana Highway Patrol Districts
Size147,165 square miles (381,160 km2)
Population1,132,812 (July 2023 estimate)
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Boulder, Montana
Troopers243 (authorized, as of 2023)
Civilians57 (as of 2014) [2]
Agency executive
  • Colonel Steve Lavin, Chief Administrator
Parent agencyMontana Department of Justice
Facilities
Stations7 Districts and 1 Headquarters
Website
Montana Highway Patrol site

The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Montana, for which it has state wide jurisdiction.

Contents

History

The Montana Highway Patrol was founded in 1935 after Montana led the nation with a 74% increase in highway fatalities. Twenty-four recruits taken from an application pool of over 1500 were selected to attend the first Highway Patrol Recruit Academy, and on May 1, 1935 those recruits took to the highways. Though authorized to enforce the eleven traffic laws in existence at that time, the Montana Highway Patrol's main focus was to educate and assist the public.

In 1988, they became the first state highway patrol in the nation to become nationally accredited. The accreditation process took three years to complete and was considered a critical element in enhancing the professionalism of the Montana Highway Patrol.

The Montana Highway Patrol currently have four specialty units that Troopers can be assigned to. They are:

• Executive Protection (EP)

• Special Response Team (SRT)

• Criminal Interdiction Team (CIT)

• Strategic Enforcement Traffic Team (SETT)

The Montana Highway Patrol also operates an aviation divisions, which includes helicopter pilots and drone pilots.

In recent years there has been a movement by the citizens of Montana to restructure the Montana Highway Patrol into a State Police Agency; however, there has not been any formal conversations regarding this change.

Organization

The Montana Highway Patrol is divided into eight districts.

Districts

There are seven districts that the MHP operates in throughout the state.

District I (Missoula) – Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli, and Sanders counties

District II (Great Falls) – Cascade, Fergus, Judith Basin, Petroleum, Teton, Wheatland, Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera, and Toole counties

District III (Butte) – Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Granite, Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, Madison, Powell, and Silver Bow counties

District IV (Billings) – Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Musselshell, Golden Valley, and Yellowstone counties

District V (Glendive) – Carter, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, McCone, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, Valley, and Wibaux counties

District VI (Kalispell) – Flathead, Lake, and Lincoln counties

District VII (Bozeman) – Broadwater, Gallatin, Madison, Meagher, Sweet Grass, and Park counties

Mission

A Ford Taurus Police Interceptor of the MHP on scene of a rollover accident Montana Highway Patrol on scene of rollover MVA at I-90, Deer Lodge County, Montana.jpg
A Ford Taurus Police Interceptor of the MHP on scene of a rollover accident

The Highway Patrol's mission is to safeguard the lives and property of the people using the highway traffic system of Montana through education, service, enforcement, and interagency cooperation.

The Patrol's 243 State Troopers cover great distances to police Montana's highways, assist other law enforcement agencies, and help motorists in need. Each year, the men and women of the Patrol:

Troopers provide public safety education presentations on nearly every subject related to driving safety, including seatbelt use, driving under the influence (DUI), and child safety.

There is currently a misconception that the Montana Highway Patrol can only enforce traffic laws on highways; however, the Patrol has state wide jurisdiction with the authority to enforce all state criminal, traffic, commercial, and/or wildlife laws.

Weapons

The Montana Highway Patrol uses a variety of lethal and non-lethal weapons, the weapons that are in use by the department are as follows:

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Montana Highway Patrol in 1935, eight officers have died while on duty. [4]

RankNameDate of DeathCause of DeathAgeLocation
PatrolmanRobert G. Steele11-02-1946Shot and killed while on a traffic stop with a car that was used in a robbery30On Highway 10; exact location N/A
PatrolmanJames H. Anderson07-24-1954Killed after being struck by a vehicle while on a traffic stop47Near Livingston, Montana
PatrolmanRichard E. Hedstrom07-19-1973Killed after being struck by a drunk driver while on a traffic stop24In Columbia Falls, Montana
PatrolmanMichael M. Ren04-08-1978Shot and killed after a high-speed pursuit ended in a wreck30In Eureka, Montana
TrooperDavid A. Graham10-09-2007Killed after being struck head-on by a pickup truck in the wrong lanes36On Highway 2 in Kalispell, Montana
TrooperEvan Frederick Schneider08-26-2008Killed making a U-turn to apprehend a speeder, 2 others killed.29On Highway 2 near Columbia Falls, Montana
TrooperMichael “Mike” Warren Haynes03-27-2009Succumbed to injuries sustained on 03-22-2009 after being struck head-on by a drunk driver going the wrong way28On U.S. 93 near Kalispell, Montana
TrooperDavid James DeLaittre12-01-2010Shot and killed while checking on an idle truck in the middle of the road23In Three Forks, Montana

See also

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References

  1. USDOJ Statistics (Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine )
  2. USDOJ Statistics (Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine )
  3. http://investor.taser.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=129937&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1579859&highlight=%5B%5D
  4. Officer Down Memorial Page