Ohio State Highway Patrol -- History

Colonel Robert M. Chiaramonte was born September 6, 1920, in Ashtabula and raised in nearby New Lyme. Following graduation from New Lyme High School in 1938, he attended the Ohio State University and Franklin University.

Originally a member of the 16th Academy Class, an untimely injury forced Colonel Chiaramonte to complete training and graduate with the 17th Academy Class in 1942. He served very briefly as a patrolman before entering the U. S. Coast Guard, where he served three and one-half years.

After his discharge, Colonel Chiaramonte served at the Hubbard sub-post, then at Warren, before returning to Hubbard as commander. He suffered a fractured neck when a truck crashed into his cruiser, and after a lengthy recovery process, was assigned to the Academy for three years. He was later assigned to Geneva for a short time before retuning to the Academy as an instructor.

Colonel Chiaramonte was selected by Colonel Mingle to attend the 1954-55 session of the Northwestern Traffic Institute and became the first Patrol officer ever selected valedictorian of his NUTI class. Later, in 1957, he transferred to the Office of Personnel, where he was instrumental in developing the innovative Forced Choice Diagnostic Evaluation System, an evaluation system designed to measure the performance of existing officers within a grading structure free of bias or unconscious prejudice on the part of the rater. For many years these screening and evaluation methods have served as prototypes for other agencies engaged in developing their own system.

Upon the retirement of Colonel A. B. Cook, Colonel Chiaramonte accepted an appointment to superintendent and assumed the office on November 1, 1965.

As the Ohio State Highway Patrol's sixth superintendent, Colonel Robert M. Chiaramonte spent nearly a third of his career as the division's commander. Under his direction total personnel grew from 1,400 employees to approximately 2,100; the aircraft fleet more than doubled in size; the Training Academy was enlarged by an addition of three classrooms and a 100-bed dormitory; and 15 new patrol post buildings were constructed and placed into service.

Under his direction the division developed a pre-employment screening system which sorts applicants according to their suitability to the job and ability to do what is required of a trooper.

Colonel Chiaramonte also stressed the importance of attaining higher levels of education and training by creating in-service training for division officers in super vision, administration, and specialized fields. As the courses grew in scope and officers of other agencies began to attend, the Highway Patrol Academy became a recognized center for basic and advanced law enforcement training.

During his tenure as superintendent, Colonel Chiaramonte commanded squads at 33 riots and demonstrations. When these disturbances became more frequent and increasingly dangerous, he secured funding to outfit his unit with proper riot equipment.

In 1972 Colonel Chiaramonte instituted the Blue Max auto larceny enforcement program to combat the epidemic proportions of car theft. As a result, Ohio's auto theft rate dropped nearly 20 percent within the first two years of the program. Many agencies across the country have used all or part of the Blue Max program as a prototype to design their own auto larceny enforcement methods.

After retirement from the Patrol, Colonel Chiaramonte held several positions in state government, culminating in his selection as director of the Department of Highway Safety in 1976. With that appointment, Robert Chiaramonte became the first person to serve at every rank in the Highway Patrol and as director of the Department of Highway Safety. In addition, he was only the fifth officer to attain 30 years of service.

For these contributions and many more, Colonel Chiaramonte richly deserves his reputation as a knowledgeable and gifted leader.