Oklahoma Highway Patrol - Train Like a Trooper Podcast

Public Information Director Sarah Stewart and PIO Trooper Preston Cox #248 interview with two graduates of the 72nd Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy. The two graduates are Trooper Truitt and Trooper Butler. 

May 26, 1978, is the darkest day in the history of OHP, when three troopers were slain in two separate shootouts with two escaped Oklahoma State Prison convicts. In this podcast, Captain Ronnie Hampton talks about his extensive research on the 34-day trail of terror by the two convicts before they were killed as well in the shootout with troopers. We also talk to LT Mike Williams and his wife about that day. LT Williams shot and killed one of the suspects, bringing the deadly encounter to a final end.

Join Train Like a Trooper hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they talk about new education requirements to become a trooper. Guest Dustin Whitten with OSU/OKC discusses the unique partnership with OHP and how it's creating a path for potential candidates to become troopers with little to no prior college credit hours. 

Trooper Danny Long, head of the First Responder Wellness Division and Stacey Stephens, a Licensed Professional Counselor, talk about the new initiative to get all troopers six free counseling sessions a year. This is a groundbreaking effort that will eventually expand to other first responders and will make a difference in the mental well-being of our law enforcement and other first responders.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster #724 for the third part of the discussion about the newly formed Oklahoma First Responder Wellness Division. Trooper Danny Long #926 is heading up this effort to revamp the Officer Assistance Program for the Highway Patrol as well as for first responders around our state. In this podcast, we bring in LPC Amy Morgan who is helping to develop the program and they talk about what this will look like, first for DPS employees, and ultimately for law enforcement and their families all over Oklahoma.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they continue the talk with Trooper Danny Long and his vision for the new Officer Wellness Program for OHP. Trooper Long's personal journey through his career with OHP has uniquely prepared him to reshape this agency program. Learn how it will involve every trooper and eventually every employee of DPS in the mental wellness process.

Trooper Danny Long #926 shares his very personal story about his struggles with mental health over the course of his law enforcement career. His experiences have shaped who he is today and have paved the way for his latest mission - revamping the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Officer Assistance Program. Over the next two podcasts, we'll hear from Trooper Long as he details his journey and then discusses his plans to make mental wellness a priority for the patrol and how he plans to make resources readily available for every trooper in the state.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they talk with Trooper Kyle Borden, who was instrumental in getting the Oklahoma Highway patrol certified as an official CrossFit Box. Learn what this distinction means for the patrol and current and future troopers and how this can be a recruiting tool for the highway patrol.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they discuss the only unsolved homicide case involving an Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper. Trooper James Long was gunned down in the line of duty back in 1942. The shooter has never been apprehended. Trooper Mark Dlugokinski discusses the case and the efforts over the years to solve it.

On this episode of Train Like a Trooper, hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster along with Trooper BJ Keeling talk with Dr. Jarrad Wagner about important chemistry on roadside contacts.  Dr. Wagner is a professor of forensic sciences at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, and specializes in research and instruction in forensic toxicology and chemistry.