PEARL, Miss.–The Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper school will turn out 49 new state troopers Thursday in a graduation exercise at the Hinds Community College Pearl campus. The school, which cost the state $7 million, was approved last year after legislators addressed a critical shortage in patrolmen and women.
“We had 75 and 61 alternates, so 136,” said MHP spokesman Warren Strain. He said that’s how many applied and were accepted to the school. The dropouts started immediately after the classes started Nov. 9.
The reason: the school is tough, really tough.
“I asked a Marine who was actually going through it. He said the only difference is you get to go home on the weekend during the trooper school,” said Strain.
He said one woman made it through the class and is one of the 49 graduates.
Gov. Bryant, who pushed heavily to have the legislature fund the school, will be the keynote speaker at the commencement.
The commencement ceremony will be at the Clyde Muse Center at 515 Country Place Parkway at 10 a.m.
