North Dakota Highway Patrol

The North Dakota Highway Patrol is the state patrol agency for the state of North Dakota. It was established in 1935 by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly.

North Dakota Highway Patrol
AbbreviationNDHP
Agency overview
Formed1935
Employees192 (as of 2004) [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionNorth Dakota, USA
Size70,762 square miles (183,270 km2)
Population762,062 (2019 est.)[2]
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersBismarck, North Dakota
Troopers139 (as of 2008) [3]
Civilians57 (as of 2004) [4]
Agency executive
  • Colonel Brandon Solberg, Superintendent
Regions4
Facilities
Aircraft2007 Cessna T 206
Website
https://www.nd.gov/ndhp/

"The mission of the North Dakota Highway Patrol is to make a difference every day by providing high-quality law enforcement services to keep North Dakota safe and secure."

North Dakota state troopers, when hired, attend the Law Enforcement Training Academy in Bismarck. It is a 22-week program in which the recruits learn all Peace Officer Standards and Training as well as advanced traffic information. Troopers are assigned to many different post locations within the four regions upon graduating from the Academy.

Major activities of the State Patrol include: traffic enforcement, crash investigation, reporting road conditions, and enforcement of laws where state property is involved. A major duty of a North Dakota state trooper is the ability to work independently and exercise good judgement accordingly. This may differ from other peace officer agencies where operations are teamwork oriented.

Regions

The state is divided into four regions. Each region is commanded by a regional commander and contains two offices located in the major cities of the region.

Troopers work within their regions, however they have equal jurisdiction throughout the state.

Highway Patrol symbol

The North Dakota Highway Patrol symbol is a profile of Red Tomahawk, a Teton Dakotah (Sioux) Indian who lived on his land near the Cannonball River on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Mandan, North Dakota and who is famous for shooting Sitting Bull in the head. The North Dakota Highway Patrol officially adopted the profile of Red Tomahawk as the patrol vehicle door emblem and department symbol in 1951.[5]

Rank structure
Title Insignia
Colonel
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Trooper


Special Assignments

Troopers can serve in special roles including the following:

Superintendents of the North Dakota Highway Patrol
#NameTerm
1Frank Putman1935–1937
2H.G. Lund1937–1938
3Archie O’Connor1939
4Frank Putman1939–1941
5John Jeffery1941–1943
6E.M. Klein1943–1953
7Clark J. Monroe1953–1961
8Ralph M. Wood1961–1978
9James D. Martin1978–1981
10Norman D. Evans1981–1985
11Brian C. Berg1985–1992
12James M. Hughes1993–2003
13Bryan R. Klipfel2003– 2007
14Mark Nelson2007–2009
15James Prochniak2009–2014[6]
16 Michael Gerhart, Jr. 2014-2018
17 Brandon Solberg 2018-

Fallen officers

Since the organization was established, one North Dakota Highway Patrol officer has died while on duty.[7]

Officer Date of Death Details
Patrolman Beryl E. McLane
Wednesday, September 17, 1941
 Struck by vehicle

Vehicles

Current and historical patrol vehicles used by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

See also

References
  1. USDOJ Bureau of Justice Statistices Census of Law Enforcement Agencies 2004
  2. https://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html 2007 Population Estimates
  3. USDOJ Bureau of Justice Statistices Census of Law Enforcement Agencies 2004
  4. USDOJ Bureau of Justice Statistices Census of Law Enforcement Agencies 2004
  5. NDHP History page
  6. "James Prochniak Superintendent, North Dakota Highway Patrol". governor.nd.gov. The State of North Dakota. Archived from the original on 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  7. The Officer Down Memorial Page
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