Minnesota State Patrol

Minnesota State Patrol
Minnesota State Patrol
	Official Patch of the Minnesota State Patrol
	Minnesota Department of Public Safety Logo
Abbreviation	MSP
Agency overview
Formed	1929; 95 years ago
Preceding agency	Minnesota Highway Patrol (1929–1973);
Employees	886 (as of 2017)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	State of Minnesota, United States
	Minnesota State Patrol Districts
Size	87,014 square miles (225,370 km2)
Population	5,628,162 (2018 est.)
General nature	Civilian police;
Operational structure
Headquarters	St. Paul, Minnesota
Troopers	600 (as of 2023)
Civilian employees	295 (as of 2017)
Agency executive	Colonel Matthew C Langer;
Parent agency	Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Patrol Districts	11
Facilities
Stations	61
Website
	Minnesota State Patrol

The Minnesota State Patrol is the primary state patrol agency for Minnesota and serves as the de facto state police for the state. While Minnesota State Patrol troopers have full powers of arrest throughout the state, their primary function is traffic safety and vehicle law enforcement. The State Patrol is a division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.^[6]

History

The Minnesota Highway Patrol was created in 1929 when Charles M. Babcock, the Commissioner of Highways, appointed Earle Brown, Sheriff of Hennepin County, as Chief of the Highway Patrol. On July 1, 1929, Chief Brown appointed 8 officers. In 1973 the Highway Patrol was reorganized and the official name was changed to the Minnesota State Patrol.^[7]

The first training school was held January 18 to April 1, 1930. This school graduated the first 35 members of the Minnesota Highway Patrol. ^[8]

The patch

The patch worn by members of the Minnesota State Patrol evolved from "The Great Seal" which is placed on all official state documents.^{[citation needed]}

Notable incidents

According to Bellingcat the Minnesota State Patrol was among the police departments which deliberately targeted journalists during the George Floyd protests.^[9] In late May 2020, the Minnesota State Patrol was involved in policing the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The State Patrol slashed tires of at least several dozen unoccupied vehicles parked near protests, admitting their involvement around a week later. Several journalists' cars, including from the Star Tribune, had their tires slashed. The Patrol said that the tactic was not a usual one, but they implemented it to prevent vehicles from being used as weapons.^[10]^[11]

Duties

^[12] While the State Patrol concentrates primarily on traffic enforcement and highway safety it also has a statewide law enforcement role. Troopers are also involved with crash reconstruction and commercial vehicle enforcement. The State Patrol capitol security division also handles the security for the Minnesota State Capitol complex and the Governor. Additionally, the State Patrol maintains a K-9 unit that focuses on drug enforcement interdiction, as well as a Special Response Team (SRT), that operates like a traditional SWAT Team.^[13] Troopers are issued the Glock 17 Gen 5 9mm sidearm.

Organization

The State Patrol is headquartered in St. Paul. There are 11 Patrol Districts throughout the state, with 61 Patrol Stations. The current State Patrol Chief is Colonel Matthew Langer.^[14] Each district office is led by a Captain and is staffed with troopers and investigators, along with communication and support staff to assist in the patrol's missions.^[15] The Headquarters and State Patrol Command Staff are within District 2000, along with the Flight Section, Investigative Services Section, and Training & Development.

Patrol Districts

Patrol District	District Office	Station Offices	Counties (or area) served
District 2000	Headquarters - St. Paul		All (statewide): State Patrol Headquarters Flight Section Investigative Services Training and Development
District 2100	Rochester	Albert Lea, Owatonna, Red Wing, Rushford, Wabasha, Winona	Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona
District 2200	Mankato	Fairmont, Hutchinson, New Ulm	Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, McLeod, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, and Watonwan
District 2300	Marshall	Marshall, Montevideo, Redwood Falls, Pipestone, Windom, Worthington	Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, and Yellow Medicine
District 2400	Oakdale (East Metro)	Forest Lake, Lakeland, Richfield, South St. Paul, St. Paul.	Anoka (part), Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin (part), Ramsey (part), Scott (part), and Washington
District 2500	Golden Valley (West Metro)	Cambridge, Chaska, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Mounds View.	Anoka (part), Carver, Hennepin (part), Isanti, Ramsey (part), and Scott (part)
District 2600	St. Cloud	Buffalo, Elk River, Morris, Sauk Centre, St. Cloud, Wilmar	Benton, Big Stone, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Pope, Sherburne, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd (part), Traverse, and Wright
District 2700	Duluth	Duluth, Grand Marais, Hinckley, Scanlon, Two Harbors	Carlton, Cook, Lake, Pine, and St. Louis (part)
District 2800	Brainerd	Aitkin, Brainerd, Little Falls, Mora, Walker	Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Hubbard (part), Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Morrison
District 2900	Detroit Lakes	Alexandria, Fergus Falls, Mahnomen, Moorhead, Wadena	Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Todd (part), Wadena, and Wilkin
District 3100	Virginia	Grand Rapids, Hibbing, International Falls	Itasca, Koochiching, and St. Louis (part)
District 3200	Thief River Falls	Bagley, Bemidji, Crookston, Hallock, Roseau	Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard (part), Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau
District 4600	Capitol Security & Executive Protection	St. Paul	Minnesota State Capitol complex & grounds, Minnesota Governor's Residence, Protection of the Governor of Minnesota and other state executives and officials as needed
District 4700	Commercial Vehicle Enforcement	Mendota Heights	All (statewide), enforce laws pertaining to motor carriers and Commercial vehicles by performing Commercial Vehicle Inspections and operating statewide scales

State Patrol Chief

Since 1929, the State Patrol has been commanded by the State Patrol Chief, who has the rank of Colonel. The Colonel reports directly to the Minnesota Commissioner of Public Safety, who is appointed by the governor and serves in the Governor's Cabinet. In 1997, Anne L. Beers was appointed Chief of the State Patrol, as the first woman to hold the rank of Commander of a State Police Agency in U.S.^[16] The following is a list of those that have held the title of State Patrol Chief:

Name	Year(s)
Earle Brown	1929–1933
John Arnoldy	1933–1938
Martin Murray	1938–1939
Eldon Row	1939–1945
Earl E. Larimer	1945–1954
Paul R. Martz	1954–1960
Leo M. Smith	1960–1966
John S. Harbinson	1966–1973
James C. Crawford	1973–1979
D. Roger Ledding	1979–1989
Kevin L. Kittridge	1989–1991
Anthony Kozojed	1991–1993
Mike P. Chabries	1993–1997
Anne L. Beers	1997–2005
Steve Mengelkoch	2005
Mark Dunaski	2005–2011
Kevin Daly	2011–2015
Matt Langer	2015–present

Rank structure

Rank	Insignia
Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Trooper

Note: Each state patrol district station has 1 sergeant who oversees all station operations. The official field supervisors throughout the district are lieutenants.

Fallen troopers

Since the establishment of the Minnesota State Patrol, eight troopers have died while on duty.^[17]

Rank	Name	Date of Death	Cause of Death	Age	Location
Trooper	William S. Kozlak	04-25-1934	Killed in a motorcycle crash	32	On Minnesota Highway 52 near Osseo, Minnesota
Trooper	Roy C. Lichtenheld	10-03-1934	Killed in a motorcycle crash	30	On Snelling Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota
Trooper	Ray X.F. Krueger	11-20-1959	Killed in a head-on car crash	47	On Minnesota Highway 210 near Brainerd, Minnesota
Trooper	Glen A. Skalman	12-27-1964	Succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on 12-17-1964 during a traffic stop	29	On US-61 near Forest Lake, Minnesota
Trooper	Donald Bert Ziesmer	10-15-1973	Shot and killed while sitting in his patrol car on a traffic stop	46	On Minnesota Highway 61 along the north shore of Lake Superior
Trooper	Roger Curtis Williams	02-22-1978	Struck and killed by an out-of-control vehicle while helping a motorist change a flat tire	53	On I-94 near Brandon, Minnesota
Corporal	Timothy Joseph Bowe	06-07-1997	Shot and killed as he and 3 county deputies approached a house where a shooting was reported	36	10 miles east of Cambridge, Minnesota in Chisago County
Corporal	Theodore Joseph "Ted" Foss	08-31-2000	Struck and killed by a tractor trailer while on a traffic stop	35	On I-90 near Lewiston, Minnesota^[18]