New York

Mom, Daughter First to Serve as New York State Troopers at Same Time

What to Know

  • Bethany Lamphere was already a mother of three children, ages 6, 10 and 12, when she became a trooper in 2001
  • Her daughter, Meagan Hartmann, entered the State Police Academy last March and graduated this month
  • More than 400 women are currently serving in the 5,000-member law enforcement agency

A veteran state trooper and her rookie daughter have become the first mother and daughter to serve in uniform at the same time in the nearly century-long history of the New York State Police. 

Trooper Meagan Hartmann recently graduated from the State Police Academy, joining her mother Bethany Lamphere as a uniformed trooper. The mother and daughter work at separate stations 60 miles apart in central New York. 

Lamphere was already a mother of three children, ages 6, 10 and 12, when she became a trooper in 2001. She had earned the required college credits to enter the police academy, then passed the state police entrance exam. She was 27 when she graduated from the academy. 

Other than a two-year stint as an investigator, Lamphere has spent her career on road patrol in areas of central and northern New York. 

Hartmann grew up hearing her mother tell stories about her job as a trooper. The daughter entered the State Police Academy at the end of last March and graduated Oct. 12, with Lamphere presenting Hartmann with her shield at the ceremony in Albany. 

Attempts to speak with the mother and daughter Monday through a state police spokesman were unsuccessful. The agency said in a statement that Lamphere and Hartmann "both feel it is an honor to be able to be part of the great history and future of protecting and serving the people of this state for such an elite agency." 

The state police, founded in 1917, accepted its first women recruits in 1973, and four graduated from the academy the following year. More than 400 women are currently serving in the 5,000-member law enforcement agency, state police officials said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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