New Mississippi Highway Patrolmen Are Hitting The Highways

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The Mississippi Highway Patrol has dozens of new Troopers hitting the highways all across the state.

They’re the first new MHP School graduates since 2015.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol has been shorthanded for the last few years.

Now, troops around the state are excited to get the new recruits on the road.

Four new troopers were assigned to Troop G in Starkville and they tell us they’re ready to get to work.

“Our patrol school is designed to get the best of the best. Our academy stresses mental, physical, and emotional abilities of these guys to get out here, when they’re out here doing their job, that they can handle themselves correctly,” says MSgt. Criss Turnipseed.

There were between 600 and 700 applicants for Mississippi Highway Patrol Class 62.

Only 120 were selected for the MHP Trooper School, and out of that 120, only 57 actually finished.

“Being raised around law enforcement, I knew this was what I was meant to do and I always knew I would never be satisfied, until I wore the blue and gray uniform,” says MHP Trooper James Scott.

4 of those 57 graduates are now a part of MHP Troop G and will help make up for the shortage of patrolmen across the state.

“It’s going to make the roadways a lot safer, because now, you’ll see more Highway Patrolmen on the road, instead of maybe passing one once a week, or once every two weeks, you’ll see a lot of us new guys out and about and we’re eager to work, so we’ll be pretty much everywhere,” says Trooper Nicholas Shumaker.

The recent graduates have been assigned to work Lowndes, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Monroe Counties.

Turnipseed says each of those counties desperately needed more MHP Troopers.

“There’s only three or four troopers I think in Monroe County, and just being able to help them out and be there to help them out once they get put in a situation, get there quicker for them, and just be able to help out all around,” says Trooper Matt Minga.

Although MHP Class 62 successfully completed the 19 weeks of MHP Trooper School, they still have 12 weeks of training left.

“Right now, we’re getting ready to start our FTO Program and what we’re going to be doing is just riding with a MHP Trooper that’s already on the road and he’s going to be showing us, you know, the do’s and the don’t’s, learning the highways, and just kind of getting us prepared for being out on our own,” says Trooper Aaron Conley.

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