Master Trooper Ooley retiring after 34 years
Jun. 27—PENDLETON — Indiana State Police Pendleton District is announcing Master Trooper Michael Ooley, soon to be a 34-year veteran, is retiring from the Indiana State Police.
Trooper Ooley is an Owen County native and graduated from the 46th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in November 1988. After graduating from the academy, Ooley was assigned to the Connersville Post and patrolled Rush County.
During his 34-year career, Trooper Ooley has served as an EVOC (Emergency Operation Operator Certificate) instructor, a vehicle and aircraft advanced technical investigator, and trained as a Commercial Motor Vehicle inspector.
Ooley was also involved in the community he served by helping coordinate the "Every 15 Minutes" program at Rushville Consolidated High School. This program educates students about the dangers of impaired driving, and was a huge success and made a lasting impression on the community.
From 1997 to 2001, Trooper Ooley was part of the High-Performance Vehicle section, which ensured public safety on Indiana roadways through vigorous, and direct traffic enforcement.
In September 2005, when Hurricane Katrina devastated Mississippi, Trooper Ooley was part of the assistance sent by the Indiana State Police to aid local law enforcement affected by the hurricane.
When the Connersville Post closed in 2010, Trooper Ooley was reassigned to the Pendleton District and continued to patrol Rush, Henry and Fayette counties. During his 34 years of service, Trooper Ooley drove more than one million miles for the Indiana State Police without any crashes.
When asked about his career, Master Trooper Ooley said, "I have been blessed to have a career in the field I wanted to do since childhood. Not many people can make that statement. I only hope I have been able to make a positive impact in someone's life over the years."
When asked about his plans, Trooper Ooley said, "I plan to spend time with my family, my wife Melissa, my three children, and five grandchildren."
Ooley continued by saying his grandchildren are very active and he wants to be there to support them in their activities.
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