Oklahoma Highway Patrol - Train Like a Trooper Podcast

Train Like a Trooper podcast hosts Sarah Stewart and LT Mark Southall #81 discuss firearms with Trooper Mark Walters #714 and LT Steven Cornell #120, two of OHP's resident experts on the topic. The group discusses the history of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s firearms training program to include how it was developed and evolved to what it is today. Also discussed is the loadout troopers carry while patrolling Oklahoma’s roadways.

In this episode, we hear from Troopers Austin Brown and Keyton Davis. They have recently become OHP's full-time recruiters. We talk about the new division, why it's important, and what OHP is looking for in cadets. If you've ever wondered what it takes to become a trooper, take a listen! 

Join host Sarah Stewart and PIO Trooper Preston Cox as they speak with two of the cadets from the OHP 73rd Lateral Academy. The academy graduated just before Christmas 2024 and we spoke with the cadets about a month before graduation. All lateral academy cadets were already in law enforcement before joining OHP. Hear why they wanted to become Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers.

Public Information Director Sarah Stewart and PIO Trooper Preston Cox #248 interview with two graduates of the 72nd Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy. The two graduates are Trooper Truitt and Trooper Butler. 

Join Train Like a Trooper hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they talk about new education requirements to become a trooper. Guest Dustin Whitten with OSU/OKC discusses the unique partnership with OHP and how it's creating a path for potential candidates to become troopers with little to no prior college credit hours. 

Trooper Danny Long, head of the First Responder Wellness Division and Stacey Stephens, a Licensed Professional Counselor, talk about the new initiative to get all troopers six free counseling sessions a year. This is a groundbreaking effort that will eventually expand to other first responders and will make a difference in the mental well-being of our law enforcement and other first responders.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they continue the talk with Trooper Danny Long and his vision for the new Officer Wellness Program for OHP. Trooper Long's personal journey through his career with OHP has uniquely prepared him to reshape this agency program. Learn how it will involve every trooper and eventually every employee of DPS in the mental wellness process.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they talk with Trooper Kyle Borden, who was instrumental in getting the Oklahoma Highway patrol certified as an official CrossFit Box. Learn what this distinction means for the patrol and current and future troopers and how this can be a recruiting tool for the highway patrol.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they discuss the only unsolved homicide case involving an Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper. Trooper James Long was gunned down in the line of duty back in 1942. The shooter has never been apprehended. Trooper Mark Dlugokinski discusses the case and the efforts over the years to solve it.

On this episode of Train Like a Trooper, hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster along with Trooper BJ Keeling talk with Dr. Jarrad Wagner about important chemistry on roadside contacts.  Dr. Wagner is a professor of forensic sciences at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, and specializes in research and instruction in forensic toxicology and chemistry.

On this episode of TLAT we are featuring Jeff Sifers discussing report writing for LEOs. Sifers is a prosecutor for Grady County and, was recently, a Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor for the DA’s Council.  Hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster along with Trooper BJ Keeling talk about the importance of working from the traffic stop all the way through to conviction on a DUI case.

Join hosts Sarah Stewart and Trooper Eric Foster as they head to DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) school in Durant and talk to Karl Citek, a Professor of Optometry from Forest Grove, Oregon. Professor Citek was in Oklahoma teaching law enforcement about nystagmus testing for intoxicated individuals and how clues from the eyes can be a valuable tool in DUI enforcement.