Iowa State Patrol - History

History

The State Patrol was created in 1935 (as the Iowa Highway Safety Patrol), after an act creating the Patrol was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor. Initially the patrol was composed of 53 men. Later that same year, the word Safety was dropped from the name, and the unit became known simply as the Iowa Highway Patrol, by the early 1970s, the name had changed again, to reflect the change that Iowans felt was needed, the Iowa Highway Patrol became known as the Iowa State Patrol. The change was quickly reflected by the difference in the uniform shoulder patches, and by the wording of the logos on the car doors.

In 1936, Oran H. Pape became the first man to die in the line of duty, and remains to date the only member of the Patrol to be murdered in the line of duty. Trooper Pape's murder started the custom of wearing your sidearm on the side opposite of your strong arm. This procedure, called "Cross drawing," would continue with the Patrol until the early 2000s.

In the early days of the Patrol, cars were painted black, with the State Patrol logo on the front doors, then, in the 1970s, the cars were repainted white, with the logo on the front doors, by the early 1980s, Patrol vehicles had a light tan color with the Iowa State Patrol logo on the sides of the vehicle. In the late 1990s, the Patrol switched to a black and gold color scheme on their vehicles. The change was not particularly well received, however, with some critics feeling that the new color scheme had turned Patrol cars into moving advertisements for the University of Iowa's Hawkeye sports teams. The Patrol later switched back to the prior color scheme; however, the 2007 and newer patrol vehicles have been predominately colored silver or white. The Patrol has mainly used the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for a number of years. Recently the Patrol has begun using the Dodge Charger (LX) Police Pursuit Version as well. For a short time, the Patrol also had motorcycle officers until the early 1980s due to the neglect, and later, uninterest of a motorcycle division within the Patrol. The Patrol also uses several small airplanes for use as air traffic patrol, and to locate suspects fleeing on foot, into the wooded areas, and farm fields of rural Iowa.