Trooper Down! by Marie Bartlett

law enforcement profession.
    Men and women under five feet six were not the only ones barred from the highway patrol before the sixties. In 1967, there was only one black man on the force, Charles H. Johnson. Faced with dismissal for growing an unauthorized mustache, Johnson filed state and federal class action suits against the patrol in 1975 on behalf of all blacks, contending that in his seven years on the patrol he had been limited to the rank of trooper and denied promotion “in ways which discriminated against me solely on the basis of race and color.” He also stated that a mustache was “symbolic to black tradition and culture,” and that the highway patrol’s policy on hair should be amended because it was unconstitutional.
    As a result of the lawsuit, North Carolina was placed under a five-year federal consent decree in 1980, which stipulated that the patrolmust reach a goal of 50 percent black applicants and 25 percent women in each training-school session. As of 1987, the goal had not been met, and the highway patrol remained under the federal order.
    After the initial screening process, all applicants are scored in three categories. The psychological test counts one-third, as do reading-comprehension and physical-skill tests. The totals are combined to form a “T” score for each applicant. Starting with the highest “T” scores, the highway patrol administration proceeds down the applicant list to fill vacancies, making sure that a percentage of women and blacks are included.
    But there’s still more weeding to do before the fifty to sixty individuals who finally enter cadet school are selected. At this point, about 150 applicants remain of the original 500. Each must go before a five-member review board consisting of field officers from various parts of the state.
    The panel examines each file, grills the applicant with questions pertinent to the highway patrol, and judges him or her on appearance, personality, and demeanor. At the end of the two-hour session, panel members vote “pass” or “fail” in various categories, thereby determining the candidate’s fate. About half of the 150 applicants do not pass this part of the screening procedure.
    The remaining seventy-five are given a thorough physical exam. Since most applicants are young and relatively healthy, few are turned down for medical reasons. When it happens, it can prove devastating to the applicant.
    â€œSome people are so determined to get on the highway patrol, they’ll pay their family doctor to provide them with a ‘clean exam,’” said Lieutenant Day, “only to learn the patrol has its own physician on contract.”
    Once an applicant passes the physical, he’s placed on the waiting list for school. The entire process—from the time an application is filled out until the physical is completed—takes about three months. If no vacancies occur on the patrol, it can be two years before an applicant enters training. With the exception of retirees and involuntary dismissals, few troopers quit the patrol. Employee turnover rate averages less than 5 percent a year.
    Not only is it difficult to get into the North Carolina Highway Patrol, there’s a tremendous cost involved in turning each cadet intoa well-trained officer. Lieutenant Day estimates that the state spends $90,000 per person, including the expense of screening each applicant, paying for five months of room and board at school, covering cadet and instructor salaries, and providing uniforms, patrol car, and equipment.
    â€œThat’s why we tell cadets, ‘Be sure this is what you want to do. We’ve got a lot of money invested in you,’” he said.
    It is a warm Saturday afternoon in midautumn at the North Carolina Highway Patrol Training Center in Garner, five miles south of Raleigh. Outside the brick-red administration building, on 357 acres, are sixty-two adults,