ISP Road Show features Versailles sergeant
Jan. 24—VERSAILLES — Catch the latest edition of the Indiana State Police Road Show radio program hosted by Sergeant John Perrine on the Indiana State Police YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/channel/UCu5Bg1KjBd7H1GxgkuV3YJA.
This week's show features Public Information Sergeant Steven Wheeles from the Versailles District. Sgt. Wheeles' district covers 10 counties in what he calls, "No Man's Land," the area between Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville.
Because the Versailles troopers cover such a large swath of rural Indiana, troopers in this area have a large range of responsibilities. Sgt. Wheeles discussed the challenges faced by the crash investigators in the Versailles district. Many of these take place in and around construction zones.
"You've got traffic that's slowing as it should for the workers," Sgt. Wheeles said. "And it's important that everyone does that because it only takes that one person to not slow down and cause a serious, tragic accident. That falls on the State Police to investigate those crashes."
Sgt. Perrine said that he understands that road closures [due to a crash] are inconvenient but troopers only have one chance to to investigate the evidence and answer the questions surrounding a crash. Crash reconstruction units are comprised of police officers who have specialized training in accident investigation and it is their job to examine the scene of serious motor vehicle crashes whoere serious injuries or loss of life occurs.
"Imagine being that family that has lost a loved one," Sgt. Wheeles said. "They want answers of what happened and why their loved one lost their life or was seriously injured. We take it personally; we all have family and we feel it's our duty to provide those answers."
The benefits of teamwork was another aspect of his job that Sgt. Wheeles discussed. In rural areas, an ISP trooper may be patrolling an entire county by themselves with no back-up other than the local law enforcement agencies. In the same way, ISP officers monitor the radio channels and can respond to calls in order to provide assistance without being asked.
The radio program was titled Signal-10 in the early 1960s when it was first started by two troopers in northern Indiana. The name was later changed to the Indiana State Police Road Show and is the longest continuously aired state police public service program in Indiana.
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