Question: North Dakota Highway Patrol History

[Country Boy]

I'm training to be a trooper for the North Dakota Highway Patrol, and this is week 6 of 22 at the Law Enforcement Training Academy in Bismarck. Our sergeant posed a question for us to answer by any and all means necessary, and I thought perhaps the minds at THR would have an answer (or at least an idea of where to look).

"Who was the first ND Highway Patrolman wounded by gunfire and briefly, what were the circumstances?"

Ideas?

 

[tlhelmer]

Have you performed a search on the net, say google or something similar?

 

[Dienekes]

Check with the state library; I suspect that at some time along the way someone wrote up at least a sketchy history of the NDHP and something like that would probably be mentioned in there.

For that matter you might google it; or look in the university catalogues to see if someone wrote a thesis or dissertation for a police science or police administration major...

If Ralph Wood is still alive, ask him...

 

[Country Boy]

Believe me, I've googled and yahooed my brains out with no results. We cannot leave the Academy during the week to go to a library, so methinks it must be something accessable via phone or internet. I'll keep looking.

 

[tlhelmer]

Your right I did a search and came up with nothing. The official website does not have anything on officer deaths. I'll try ODHP

 

[Gump]

Wild Bill? Aces and Eights

 

[Gump]

Upon further revview:

Maybe it's a trick question? Maybe no NDHP has ever been wounded by a gun

 

[Andrew Rothman]

Could the answer perhaps reside at the academy? Perhaps there is a "hall of fame", or library, or a patrol historian?

 

[another okie]

There are lots of sites listing dead officers, and on one I found Beryl McLaine, killed by vehicular assault (and plenty of local police and sheriffs killed by gunfire in North Dakota) but no deaths of state troopers by gunfire. These sites normally only list officers killed, not wounded, so it could be quite hard to find, or it could be a trick question, as others have suggested. Maybe there has never been a ND state trooper wounded by gunfire. (I may have spelled Trooper McLaine's name incorrectly, because the site made my computer crash before I could copy it. If so, I apologize.)

I like the suggestion of seeing if there is a library at the academy or some grizzled old timer you could quiz. On one web site that listed state trooper memorials there was a big blank for ND, so maybe there's a project for you.

One last thought: Does the academy itself or do any of the buildings or rooms have names? It's always possible something at the academy is named after the trooper who is the answer to your question.

 

[Firethorn]

Note, he said wounded, not killed by gunfire.

I'm guessing from the wording that the officer survived. From the 'any and all means', have you tried asking the instructor? Sometimes it's a bit of a trick question. Also, do you have local library at the academy, or a history room? I'm in the Air Force, and we have all sorts of historical facts like this scattered around. It might even be in your materials.

edit - I agree- check out building/room names. Look around for plaques.

 

[WonderNine]

Country Boy, incoming PM. I'll see what I can find out for ya.

 

[Country Boy]

WonderNine - You have PM.

 

[tlhelmer]

Dont forget to let us know when you find the answer. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[another okie]

So what was the answer?

 

[Darkside]

All means nessesary...means ask the instructor. Ask anyone and everone. Law Enforcment=Asking lots of questions and asking the correct questions.

Goodluck, Troop Rookie

Darkside

PS. My best guess is One of the instructors

 

[sendec]

Word of Advice....

In a residential acdemy your best friends are the custidians and clerical staff - they know everything.....some well played schmoozing can work wonders.

 

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Contact the Head of Reference at the ND State Library: 1-800-472-2104 or 701-328-4622. It's the job of those fiolks to dig up this kind of info, and they're very good at it.

It'd have to have been after 1935, and prolly not more than five years after. And it certainly would have been in the papers.

- pdmoderator