Colonel Michael Edmonson recently retired as the 25th Superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, having been appointed in January 2008 by Governor Bobby Jindal and reappointed in January 2016 by Governor John Bel Edwards. In September 2012, Edmonson assumed the General Chair position of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Division of State & Provincial Police—representing the U.S. State Police agencies, RCMP, Canadian Provincial Police, and Puerto Rico National Police.

He also served as the Deputy Secretary of Public Safety Services and was responsible for an agency of more than 2,900 employees with a budget of nearly half a billion dollars. In his role as Deputy Secretary, Edmonson oversaw the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, the Office of Management and Finance, the Office of Motor Vehicles, the Office of State Fire Marshal, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission.

Edmonson was previously a career State Trooper, serving over 36 years and rising to the top of the Department from the rank of Trooper First Class. Since the early eighties, he has investigated thousands of crashes, highway safety, commercial vehicle safety, and hazmat incidents. “My purpose in speaking is to bring attorneys behind the eyes of a state trooper, sheriff, deputy, or police officer to see what goes through their minds on a given day while on patrol, working crashes, giving tickets, dealing with the public, and spending time in court as well as depositions.”

Edmonson earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1980 from Louisiana State University, before attending graduate school there. He is also a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and the FBI National Executive Institute.

MIKE EDMONSON

Retired Superintendent, Louisiana State Police

Community Outreach & Education, Dudley DeBosier