Demonstrations included rows of patrol cars and the OSP Bomb Squad robots.
(SALEM) - Today marks the anniversary of the Oregon State Police, which became an agency August 1st, 1931. As part of a special celebration honoring the time span, state police gathered at the Oregon state capitol in a show of solidarity and force. The 75 years have been witness to every kind of challenge that a police agency has endured.
While highly trained and considered by many to be the best state police agency in the nation, Oregon State Police have endured their share of tragedies. Troopers have been lost in the line of duty, and many others have been injured.
Their duties reach far beyond the freeways of Oregon, as OSP troopers maintain a substantial fish and wildlife operation. Little time passes between reports of OSP troopers saving lives and averting tragedy, often at great personal risk.
And the passage of time has meant increased technology for Oregon State Police. One demonstration that people rarely get to see up close involves the agency’s bomb squad robots.
“This one is the much more modern version of the 6A, the electronics are much more capable, the joints are stronger.”
Bill Hakim is a Hazardous Devices Technician with OSP. He says the bomb robots allow cops to keep their distance from explosives, and the capabilities of the robots have increased substantially in the new age of accelerated technology.
It was a rare chance to see these devices up close. Still, Hakim didn’t elaborate too much. Bomb squad teams are often secretive about their methods.
New State Police Anniversary Logo
“Most of the difference you can’t see, they’re internal, they have to do with electronic capabilities, remote sensors.”
State police work closely with other agencies, and Hakim says all bomb teams in this state have standardized their bomb robots. It allows them to cover each other.
“That makes for a very, very high level of interoperability with for instance, the Marion County incident. Salem Police can turn around and operate our robot; I can turn around and operate theirs. If we have any kind of a major problem I’m going to be able to deploy with other technicians who have exactly the same training I do and we’re familiar with each other’s tools.”
Additional 75th Anniversary celebrations during the month are being scheduled around the state.
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