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
Q7292020 (573) 526-6115

July 29, 2020
EMPHASIS: Lt. Erik A. Gottman, Lt. Kirk A. Davis Promoted Effective August 1, 2020


Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol announces the following promotions effective August 1, 2020.

Lieutenant Kirk A. Davis, Q/PSD, is being promoted to captain and designated director of the Professional Standards Division, General Headquarters, Jefferson City, MO.

Davis was appointed to the Patrol on August 1, 1993, as a member of the 66th Recruit Class. After graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop C, Zone 12, Jefferson County. In September 1997, he attended the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Basic Agent Training Academy held at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. He served as an agent with the DEA until returning to the Patrol on May 15, 1999. At that time, Davis was assigned to Troop F, Zone 5, Camden County. He transferred to Troop F, Zone 2, Cole County in December 1999. Davis became an instructor in the Training Division, General Headquarters, Jefferson City, in 2002. While serving as an instructor, Davis has been promoted to corporal in 2003 and sergeant in 2005. He was promoted to lieutenant on June 1, 2017, and assigned as assistant director of the Training Division, General Headquarters, Jefferson City, MO. He transferred to the Professional Standards Division on January 1, 2018.

Captain Davis grew up in Loveland, CO, and graduated from Loveland High School in 1988. In December 1992, he graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia having earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology with a minor in Spanish. While a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, he spent a summer studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. He earned his Master of Science in criminal justice administration from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, MO, in May 2002. He graduated from the Leadership In Police Organizations training in 2018. Captain Davis and his wife, Angela D. (Findley), have two children, Katie and Brian.

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Lieutenant Erik A. Gottman, Troop B, is being promoted to the rank of captain and designated commanding officer of Troop B, Macon, MO.

Gottman joined the Missouri State Water Patrol as a member of its 27th Recruit Class on October 1, 1995. As a Water Patrol officer, he earned the ranks of corporal (1999), sergeant (2000), and lieutenant (2007). Upon the merger between the Missouri State Water Patrol and the Missouri State Highway Patrol January 1, 2011, he was assigned to Troop B, Macon.

Captain Gottman was born in Fort Knox, KY. He graduated from Hannibal High School in Hannibal, MO. In 1995, he earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice administration from Hannibal-LaGrange College. He completed Leadership in Police Organizations training in 2015, and Police Leadership: The WestPoint Model Instructor Academy in 2019. Gottman graduated from the FBI National Academy Session 276 in 2019. Captain Gottman and his wife, Ashley (Biellier), have one son, Colton.


Photos of both Captain Kirk Davis and Captain Erik Gottman will be available with this news release on the Patrol’s website.

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Capt Kirk Davis.jpgCapt Erik Gottman.jpg