Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
A 1927 Model-T pickup truck is displayed during the Washington State Patrol's 100-year anniversary at the Capitol Campus in Olympia on Sept. 1.
Washington State Patrol Assistant Chief Marc Lamoreaux speaks to the crowd and media in attendance during the WSP's 100-year anniversary ceremony at the Capitol Campus in Olympia on Sept. 1.
Members of the 115th Trooper Basic Training complete a drill at the Washington State Patrol Academy on Tuesday in
The Washington State Patrol celebrated their 100th anniversary Sept. 1, with a ceremony at the Capitol Campus in Olympia.
The ceremony included WSP Assistant Chief Marc Lamoreaux speaking about the history, where WSP is now and where it's going in the future. Chief John Batiste was unable to attend the ceremony. There was representation from several different patrol cars through history, including a 1951 patrol car, a 1949 paddy wagon and brand new patrol cars and motorcycles. There was a squad rescue truck, a side-by-side and a go-kart. The vehicles were included in a parade around the flag circle.
The featured car was a 1927 Model-T pickup truck that was brought down for the occasion.
"It was very cool," Washington State Patrol's Darren Wright told the Journal. "I've been with the state patrol for 30 years now and to see us celebrating the day the first troopers went out to start protecting the citizens of Washington and thinking about all those brave men and women that have gone since then and continue to this day to protect our state is pretty cool."
The state legislature authorized the appointment of a highway police with the power of peace officers. On Sept. 1, 1921, Harold Lakesburg, Harry Harkins, Hentry Shunk, William Clark, Eugene Russell and George Potter were sworn in as the first Washington State Patrol officers and were sent out on motorcycles with sidecars carrying their equipment. The sidecars also had camping gear because they were sent out for several weeks at a time, so they could stop somewhere, set up camp and get rest whenever it was necessary.
In Wright's 30 years, he's seen a lot of changes throughout his time at WSP, including changes in technology and procedures.
"Things looked very differently when I got hired on back in the early '90s," Wright said. "We adapted to those changes. When I hired on, we still used typewriters and didn't really have computers to work with. Now we have computers that will scan and print out citations and have databases in the car to do checks and things like that. The advancements continue and we just continue to roll with those advancements."
Operations up at the Washington State Patrol are going smoothly. The academy is currently preparing their 115th Trooper class to graduate in its 100 years. Troopers complete a 27-week basic training before they graduate.
Wright said WSP is actively recruiting for troopers right now and has also signed onto a program called 30 by 30. The program is nationwide and is intended to raise the hiring of women specifically, with the goal being to hire 30% increase in women troopers by 2030.
"That's something we're working on and actively recruiting for," Wright said. "We'd really like to see more females in our ranks."
Wright said WSP is happy to have celebrated its 100-year anniversary and the plan for the past 100 years is the same as the future for the organization, which is to serve the citizens of Washington.
"Our mission is to serve the citizens of the state," "We want to make sure the motoring public is safe. We want to make sure that everybody that lives and visits Washington is safe and so that's our mission and we will continue to do that and we'll adapt in whatever manner it takes to do that so that our troopers can go out and serve the people of this state."
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