By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-981909.mp3
Albany NY – New York State Troopers are among the highest-paid law enforcement officers in the nation. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
New York State Trooper Thomas Mungeer is president of the 3,400-member New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association...he disputes newspaper reports that the trooper salary is second-highest nationally because troopers work a 2,184-hour year, compared with about 2,000 hours for other agencies. Mungeer has issues with the newspaper article which he claims used "cherry-picked" information that placed the New York force as 2nd-highest earning state-police entity in the nation, behind New Jersey and ahead of California, Alaska and Delaware. Gannett's Mary Beth Pfeiffer stands by her story.
By comparison, more than 1,500 members of the Massachusetts State Police had 2010 earnings of $100,000 or more including 255 who received $150,000 or more, according to annual data released by the state Office of the Comptroller. Massachusetts State Police Spokesman David Procopio says the high level of services provided by troopers there and in other states like New York naturally incurs costs including overtime. Procopio says the Massachusetts force is currently shorthanded.
The Vermont State Police website lists base salary for a newly hired Trooper at just over $36,700. An officer progressing through seniority steps can eventually earn a top base salary of about $71,300. New York Trooper Thomas Mungeer says policing is a dangerous job and officers should be compensated accordingly. The Gannett study of state payroll records shows New York State troopers were paid an average $112,537 for all ranks in 2010.