High school students learn from Highway Patrol
Eighteen students participated in the Student Alliance Program this year.
April 4, 2008
Hickman High School junior Sam Cavness fires a handgun as part of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Student Alliance Program on Thursday night in Jefferson City. The program offers local area high school juniors and seniors a chance to experience life as a Highway Patrol officer.
South Callaway High School junior Patrick Harris passes part of a handgun to Jefferson City High School junior Austin Bequette on Thursday night in Jefferson City. Harris and Bequette are cadets in the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Student Alliance Program.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Mike Halford displays one of the weapons used by on-duty patrol officers on Thursday night. Halford is one of many officers who help instruct cadets at the Student Alliance Program in Jefferson City.
South Callaway High School senior Patrick Harris stares down the sight of a Glock handgun and slowly squeezes the trigger. Five loud cracks later, Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Tim Mosley congratulates Harris on his aim.
Harris is one of 18 participants of the Missouri Highway Patrol’s 2008 Student Alliance Program, which gives area high school juniors and seniors a look inside the life of a Highway Patrol officer. Harris said he plans on heading to a technical school after he graduates, but is considering the Highway Patrol as an alternative.
“Definitely the EVOC course was the best part,” Jefferson City High School junior Austin Bequette said about the Student Alliance. The EVOC, or Emergency Vehicle Operating Course, is where the Highway Patrol learns to drive patrol cars, and with this program, high school students get a chance to drive the course.
Thursday’s class was the fifth of six sessions at the Missouri Highway Patrol Academy in Jefferson City.
The Missouri Highway Patrol Academy is where Highway Patrolmen are trained.
Before being taken to the course, the cadets were given a quick firearms safety course taught by Cpl. Mike Halford.
“Guns just don’t go off,” Halford said as he displayed his unloaded handgun and demonstrated the proper way to hold it. Before heading out, Halford gave the cadets a presentation about an incident in California five years ago when a Highway Patrol officer and his cadet were shot during a demonstration ride.
After being instructed about safe firearm procedures, the students were taken to the firearms course. Earmuffs were handed out, and paper targets in the shape of human silhouettes were placed onto mechanical holders. The officer in charge of the course instructed the cadets, “Face your targets!”
Cadets practiced firing at targets from various distances as their instructors watched and provided instruction. Trooper Scott Ballard worked with California High School senior Tiffany Hoecker as she unloaded on a target downrange and empty shell casings began to line the floor around her feet.
After becoming familiar with the firearms officers hope they themselves never have to use in the field, adventurous cadets were given the chance to fire a submachine gun. Soon the hole-filled targets were taken down. The cadets took them home as souvenirs.
The next stop for the cadets was the Academy gymnasium. The walls were lined with small flags, each with a different year on it. Every flag had a unique design and slogan written on it. Trooper Bruce McLaughlin explained to the cadets that the flags are called “Guide Ons,” each one representing a different graduating class.
Each class is responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the flag. During their time at the Highway Patrol Academy, their flag goes wherever they go.
McLaughlin told the cadets that a 10-to-20 percent drop-out rate is standard at the academy. Recruits are subjected to a constant high-stress environment for their first weeks at the academy. Life as a Highway Patrolman is stressful, and the recruits need to be prepared for it, McLaughlin said.
Sgt. Paul Reinsch, who graduated from the academy in 1990, said the Student Alliance is a product of the already popular Community Alliance Program, which allows citizens of all ages to participate in a similar course. The Community Alliance has been running for five years, and the relatively new Student Alliance began last year. Because of the high demand for the community program, the Highway Patrol decided to talk to local area high school counselors and career centers about a program for high school students.
Reinsch said there is a possibility of a college program aimed at students already engaged in majors related to law enforcement.
“The program is mainly an educational thing, but also a recruiting tool,” Reinsch said. He said finding a schedule that today’s busy high school students can attend presents a problem for the coordinators of the program.
The sixth and final class will be held next week at the academy, where students will be treated to a casual dinner with current academy recruits.
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