Colonel Kenneth L. Morckel may have retired while colonel at GHQ in Columbus, but it all started with his first assignment – Lisbon Post – in 1975, after he graduated with the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s 99th Academy Class.

At Lisbon, Morckel stood out from the rest, earning Post Trooper of the Year in 1978 and Post and District Trooper of the Year in 1979.

During his time with the Patrol, Morckel’s acts of heroism were not few: he saved a little girl’s life in 1977 at the Ohio State Fair, after her heart and breathing stopped. As a sergeant in 1981, he used his cruiser to force a vehicle fleeing troopers off of Interstate 70 and into a ditch. In risking his life to do this, he stopped the possibility of the speeding car crashing head-on with oncoming traffic. In 1989, as Elyria Post Commander, he pulled down from a highway railroad overpass an AIDS patient attempting suicide.

In a short 10 year-span, Morckel was promoted through four management-level ranks before being sworn in as superintendent in 2000. After a promotion to sergeant in 1980, he received his first command assignment at the Elyria Post after earning the rank of lieutenant in 1988.

Meanwhile, Morckel combined his Patrol experience with studies at Franklin University to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Management and Organizational Leadership.

Then in 1992, he was named commander of Colonel Thomas W. Rice’s support staff. In January 1993, Colonel Morckel transferred to Columbus District Headquarters as district commander. Afterward, he was promoted to the rank of major, assigned to the Office of Field Operations in March 1997, and earned the rank of lieutenant colonel that September.

After retiring from the Patrol as its 13th superintendent, Colonel Morckel continued with his commitment to safety for Ohioans by serving as director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety until his retirement this year.

Colonel Morckel began several Division-changing programs and ideas during his tenure as superintendent. One particularly notable strategy – increased emphasis on effective enforcement working closely with public education – resulted in reductions of rural traffic fatalities in 2000 and 2001.

Also while superintendent, Colonel Morckel coordinated the bias-based policing strategy that included policy changes and training initiatives and made traffic stop diversity data and complaint statistics easily accessible to the public.

He also served on several state-level task forces – including chair of the State of Ohio Security Task Force’s Law Enforcement Subcommittee - that addressed Homeland Security issues raised after the September 11, 2001, terrorism incidents. Colonel Morckel oversaw the addition of a new LEADS Intelligence Information System, so all law enforcement agencies share the latest information on arrests and contacts. He also implemented Highway Watch, a national program that enables truck drivers to alert law enforcement officials about highway safety and security concerns.

Colonel Morckel is a native of Carrollton in Carroll County. In addition to his college degree, he also completed the Southern Police Institute Command Officer Development Course through the University of Louisville and the FBI’s National Executive Institute. He resides in Dublin with his wife, Sandy. He has two grown children, Kenneth and Karmen, and three grandchildren.