Bloomington - Two new troopers reported to the Bloomington Post this past week to begin their careers with the Indiana State Police. On November 10, 2013 of the more than 3,000 individuals who applied for a position in this class, 80 made the final cut and reported to the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy to begin their training as members of the 73rd Indiana State Police Recruit class. Of the 80 who started, only 47 recruits were able to endure the entire 25 weeks of intense training which included over 600 hours of classroom and 300 hours of hands-on practical and scenario based training. Their hard work and dedication paid off Thursday evening, May 1st in the rotunda of the Indiana State Capitol in a graduation ceremony which included Governor Mike Pence delivering the keynote address. The new troopers were then sworn in by the Honorable Brent E. Dickson, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, after which each trooper was presented their badge.
Reporting to the Bloomington Post were Probationary Troopers Riley Nungester and Robert Whyte.
Probationary Trooper Riley Nungester is a lifelong resident of Morgan County and a 2008 graduate of Monrovia High School. He graduated from Indiana State University in Terre Haute with a B.A. in Criminal Justice where he majored in Criminology and Criminal Justice. He also minored in Legal Studies. After graduating from Indiana State in May of 2013, Probationary Trooper Nungester worked at the Putnam County Detention Center as Jailer. He then transferred to the Morgan Jail where he worked in the same capacity.
Trooper Nungester will be assigned to primarily patrol Monroe County. He resides in Morgan County.
Probationary Trooper Robert Whyte is from Mooresville and graduated from Mooresville High School in 2009. Whyte then went on to graduate from IUPUI in 2013, majoring in Criminal Justice and American History.
Probationary Trooper Whyte had previously served as a Reserve Police Officer for the town of Brooklyn, Indiana for 1 year prior to becoming an Indiana State Trooper. .
Whyte will be assigned to primarily work Lawrence County and will live in Monroe County.
The new troopers will continue their training for the next three months as part of the ISP Field Training Program. The Field Training Program will pair Nungester and Whyte with veteran troopers or Field Training Officers (FTO’s) to allow them to take what they learned in the recruit academy and apply it in the field under close supervision. Upon successful completion of their field training, they will be issued their own patrol cars and be assigned solo patrol responsibilities.
Photo 1 - Probationary Trooper Riley Nungester
Photo 2 - Probationary Trooper Robert Whyte
-30-
DURNIL
