North Dakota Highway Patrol

The North Dakota Highway Patrol, also known as the North Dakota State Patrol, is the state police and highway patrol agency for North Dakota, with jurisdiction over the entire state. It is a division of the North Dakota State Cabinet. Colonel Daniel J. Haugen has been serving as the 18th superintendent since December 15, 2024.

North Dakota Highway Patrol established in 1935 by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly.

North Dakota state troopers, when hired, attend the Law Enforcement Training Academy in Bismarck. It is a 22-week program in which the recruits learn all Peace Officer Standards and Training as well as advanced traffic information. Troopers are assigned to many different post locations within the four regions upon graduating from the Academy.

Major activities of the State Patrol include: traffic enforcement, crash investigation, reporting road conditions, and enforcement of laws where state property is involved. A major duty of a North Dakota state trooper is the ability to work independently and exercise good judgement accordingly. This may differ from other peace officer agencies where operations are teamwork oriented.

Regions The state is divided into four regions. Each region is commanded by a regional commander and contains two offices located in the major cities of the region. Northeast Region: Grand Forks and Devils Lake Southeast Region: Fargo and Jamestown Southwest Region: Bismarck and Dickinson Northwest Region: Minot and Williston

Troopers work within their regions, however they have equal jurisdiction throughout the state.

Highway Patrol symbol The North Dakota Highway Patrol symbol is a profile of Red Tomahawk, a Teton Dakotah (Sioux) Indian who lived on his land near the Cannonball River on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Mandan, North Dakota and who is famous for shooting Sitting Bull in the head. The North Dakota Highway Patrol officially adopted the profile of Red Tomahawk as the patrol vehicle door emblem and department symbol in 1951.NDHP History page

Firearms

SIG P320 - standard issue SIG P226 - Phasing out

Rank structure

The North Dakota Highway Patrol uses a paramilitary rank structure and has the following ranks:

TitleInsigniaNotesSuperintendent (rank of Colonel)The Superintendent holds the rank of Colonel. Appointed by the Governor of North Dakota.MajorMajors are responsible for a command within the Highway Patrol.CaptainA captain is a troop commander in the Field Operations Bureau or a division commander in one of the other bureaus.LieutenantA lieutenant is the assistant commander of a division/unit.SergeantA Sergeant supervises an entire Patrol shift in His/Her respective District.TrooperNo InsigniaCandidates successfully completing the academy and field training are appointed as troopers.

Special Assignments Troopers can serve in special roles including the following:

Aviation (Manned and Unmanned) Crash Reconstruction Team (CRT) Cultural Liaison Officer Dignitary Protection Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) DUI Enforcement Team Emergency Response Team (ERT) Honor Guard K9 Program

Superintendents of the North Dakota Highway Patrol # Name Term1 Frank Putman 1935–19372 H.G. Lund 1937–19383 Archie O’Connor 19394 Frank Putman 1939–19415 John Jeffery 1941–19436 E.M. Klein 1943–19537 Clark J. Monroe 1953–19618 Ralph M. Wood 1961–19789 James D. Martin 1978–198110 Norman D. Evans 1981–198511 Brian C. Berg 1985–199212 James M. Hughes 1993–200313 Bryan R. Klipfel 2003– 200714 Mark Nelson 2007–200915 James Prochniak 2009–201416Michael Gerhart, Jr.2014-201817Brandon Solberg2018-202418Daniel J. Haugen2024-Present

Fallen officers Since the organization was established, one North Dakota Highway Patrol officer has died while on duty.The Officer Down Memorial Page

Vehicles

Current and historical patrol vehicles used by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

North Dakota Highway Patrol

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