MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
A Division Of The
Department of Public Safety
Public Information and Education Division - PO Box 568 - Jefferson City, MO 65102
NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Capt. John J. Hotz
Q3162016-1 (573) 526-6115

March 16, 2016
EMPHASIS: Troop E’s Commanding Officer Captain George E. Ridens Retires April 1, 2016


Colonel J. Bret Johnson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces that Captain George E. Ridens, commanding officer of Troop E, Poplar Bluff, will retire effective April 1, 2016, after 35 years of dedicated service.

Ridens was appointed to the Patrol on January 1, 1981, as a member of the 54th Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop G, Zone 4, Reynolds County. In 1983, he transferred to Wright County, where he would earn the ranks of corporal and sergeant on May 1, 1989 and September 1, 1991, respectively. He was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Troop E Headquarters on October 1, 1997. On September 1, 2003, Ridens was promoted to captain and named commanding officer of Troop E.

Capt. Ridens was born in Crescent City, CA, and grew up in Norwood, MO. He graduated from Norwood High School in 1974. Ridens earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education from Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, MO, in 1978. Capt. Ridens and his wife, Sheryl (Shaw), have two grown children, Christopher and Jera Lee, and five grandchildren.


A photo is posted on the Patrol’s website with this news release.

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