Montana Highway Patrol


The Montana Highway Patrol 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 "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 – Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli, and Sanders counties
District II – Cascade, Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, Teton, and Wheatland counties
District III – Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Granite, Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, Madison, Powell, and Silver Bow counties
District IV – Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, and Yellowstone counties
District V – Carter, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, McCone, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, Valley, and Wibaux counties
District VI – Flathead, Lake, and Lincoln counties
District VII – Broadwater, Gallatin, Madison, Meagher, and Park counties
District VIII – Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera, and Toole counties

Mission

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:
Patrol Officers provide public safety education presentations on nearly every subject related to driving safety, including seatbelt use, driving under the influence, 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:
Since the establishment of the Montana Highway Patrol in 1935, eight officers have died while on duty.
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