OHP Graduates Largest Class In History From Academy

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol just had its largest class of academy graduates ever, so Green Country drivers will see some new faces on the road.

It's not easy keeping track of thousands of miles of Oklahoma roads. The patrol said cadets are hard at work, training.

"It's been a steep learning curve, but it's been an experience and a job that I know I'm going to love,” Trooper Will Landsheft said.

Landsheft is one of the 60 new troopers in the largest graduating class in OHP history. He started his career as a firefighter and joined the OHP after being inspired by a trooper on the road.

"His demeanor, it was something that I can look at and look up to and something that I want to try to become," Landsheft said.

Trooper Mark Southhall said the academy has had to adapt because of COVID but said those challenges have made the new troopers even tougher.

"They've done an outstanding job in getting these troopers prepared with the challenges that have been presented to bring them to the road,” Southhall said. 

Landsheft is now in his last phase of training, where he works with an experienced trooper by his side. Landsheft said with increased speeds on the turnpikes and Labor Day around the corner, pulling over speeders will be his focus.

"It's going to be a very traveled holiday and we know a lot of speeds have bumped up there, but trying to keep it reasonable, keep your distance safe between cars, and definitely buckle up," Landsheft said.

Trooper Landsheft has about seven more weeks left of his training before taking the wheel on his own. Troop B here in Tulsa will have eight new troopers on the road by this fall.