Burns native graduates as Lateral Trooper
By Mindy Gould on Thursday, May 12th, 2022 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
Burns, Or-Last week, the latest OSP class finished up their training. This excited group of Lateral Troopers are now headed to their duty stations across Oregon. One of which is from right here in Harney County. Cody Bennett from Burns, Oregon just graduated and is now a Lateral Trooper.
What is a Lateral Trooper? I am glad you asked.
Sometimes, OSP opens special recruitments for those individuals who are already certified Law Enforcement Officers but are looking for a change in location or career path.
OSP is so much more than a highway patrol. OSP Troopers provide a wide variety of public safety services. From the rural counties to metropolitan freeways, Troopers are trained to do it all. Oregon’s geographic diversity calls for a wide variety of duty assignments. Troopers may find themselves conducting enforcement patrols by airplane, pickup, ATV, snowmobile, horseback, an assortment of watercraft from white water rafts to ocean-going craft, and of course, standard police cruisers.
OSP has offices located throughout Oregon. Troopers will typically work out of an Area Command or Worksite location. Area Commands are larger offices located in more metropolitan areas. They are supervised by a Lieutenant and at least one Sergeant and may have several Troopers assigned to them. Worksites are satellite offices usually located in smaller communities. Worksites are supervised by a Sergeant who is overseen by the Local Area Commander and staffed by fewer Troopers than an Area Command.
For those who qualify as Lateral applicants, OSP puts them through a modified Lateral Training Academy that consists of 6 weeks of OSP-specific training. OSP will be opening up another Lateral Application process at the end of May.
