LANSING — Michigan will soon benefit from the services of 13 additional Michigan State Police motor carrier officers with the graduation of the 21st Motor Carrier Officer Recruit School Friday.
Gov. Rick Snyder served as the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony, hosted at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing.
“Public safety and the protection of our highway infrastructure is a very important job,” Snyder said. “These highly trained officers play a crucial role in Michigan’s economy. Their dedication and commitment to serving our great state and its residents is appreciated.”
Motor carrier officers are armed uniformed members of the MSP who specialize in commercial vehicle enforcement. They enforce traffic safety laws on commercial vehicles, protect the infrastructure through aggressive size and weight enforcement, conduct commercial vehicle and driver inspections and contribute to homeland security efforts by enforcing hazardous material regulations.
“We welcome the addition of these new motor carrier officers to the MSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division,” said Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the MSP. “Michigan’s residents are depending on them to deter and detect criminal activity with commercial vehicle activities, protect our state’s highways and infrastructure, and promote safety and security at our international border crossings.”
MC Ofcr. Taya Insixiengmay, who was elected class orator by her fellow recruits, spoke on behalf of the graduating class. She also received the academic achievement, marksmanship, and outstanding performance awards. The team building award went to MC Ofcr. Joshua Stinson.
The 21st Motor Carrier Officer Recruit School began on Aug. 28, 2016, when 15 prospective officers reported to the MSP Training Academy in Lansing. For the past 20 weeks, recruits received training in firearms, water safety, defensive tactics, patrol techniques, report writing, ethics, first aid, criminal law, precision driving, commercial vehicle law and commercial vehicle inspection procedures.
In order to be selected to attend the academy, applicants had to pass a stringent selection process that included a physical fitness test, background investigation and hiring interview.
All 13 officers have continued their education with college studies and three have prior military experience.
Graduating recruits will report to their respective MSP posts across the state for duty next week.
To learn more about a career with the MSP, interested candidates should visit michigan.gov/mspjobs.