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Montana Highway Patrol

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Montana Highway Patrol
AbbreviationMHP
Agency overview
Formed1935
Employees274 (as of 2004) [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionMontana, USA
Montana Highway Patrol Districts
Size147,165 square miles (381,160 km2)
Population998,199 (July 2011 estimate)
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersHelena, Montana
Troopers300+
Civilians68 (as of 2004) [2]
Agency executive
  • Colonel Tom Butler, Chief Administrator
Parent agencyMontana Department of Justice
Facilities
Stations8 District and 1 Head Quarters
Website
Montana Highway Patrol site

The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Montana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state over Montana Traffic law. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Montana.

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.

Organization

The Montana Highway Patrol is divided into eight districts.

MCA 61-1-101 (28) "Highway patrol officer" means a state officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations.

Districts

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

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

District II (Great Falls) – Cascade, Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, Teton, and Wheatland counties

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

District IV (Billings) – Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, 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, and Park counties

District VIII (Havre) – Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera, and Toole counties

Mission

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 patrol officers 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:

  • drive more than 5,500,000 miles (8,900,000 km)
  • respond to over 70,000 calls for service
  • issue more than 85,000 arrest tickets and more than 100,000 warning tickets

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

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]

Rank Name Date of Death Cause of Death Age Location
Patrolman Robert G. Steele 11-02-1946 Shot and killed while on a traffic stop with a car that was used in a robbery 30 On Highway 10; exact location N/A
Patrolman James H. Anderson 07-24-1954 Killed after being struck by a vehicle while on a traffic stop 47 Near Livingston, Montana
Patrolman Richard E. Hedstrom 07-19-1973 Killed after being struck by a drunk driver while on a traffic stop 24 In Columbia Falls, Montana
Patrolman Michael M. Ren 04-08-1978 Shot and killed after a high-speed pursuit ended in a wreck 30 In Eureka, Montana
Trooper David A. Graham 10-09-2007 Killed after being struck head-on by a pickup truck in the wrong lanes 36 On Highway 2 in Kalispell, Montana
Trooper Evan Frederick Schneider 08-26-2008 Killed after being struck head-on by a drunk driver going the wrong way 29 On Highway 2 near Columbia Falls, Montana
Trooper Michael “Mike” Warren Haynes 03-27-2009 Succumbed to injuries sustained on 03-22-2009 after being struck head-on by a drunk driver going the wrong way 28 On U.S. 93 near Kalispell, Montana
Trooper David James DeLaittre 12-01-2010 Shot and killed while checking on an idle truck in the middle of the road 23 In Three Forks, Montana

See also

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=[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Officer Down Memorial Page
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