The 135th Trooper Recruit School of the Michigan State Police will hold its graduation on Wednesday. That means 101 new MSP recruits will be sent out to posts throughout Michigan, including five coming to the Niles post. First Lieutenant Mike Dawson, the post commander in Niles, tells WSJM News it’s good to get them.
“Our numbers will be higher than they have in a long time, so we should be back to the full staffing once these recruits receive their full training,” Dawson said.
Dawson says for the past five years, state police have seen a large number of retirements.
“Most of the posts in the Fifth District are low,” Dawson said. “We’ve had troopers retiring on a consistent basis.”
The Paw Paw post is getting three new troopers. Dawson says when a trooper finishes their 28 week training, they can request to be stationed near the area where they came from. One of the new graduating recruits is from Paw Paw, and one is from Cassopolis.
