Pendleton District welcomes new Lateral Probationary Trooper Michael Bertacini

Submitted

On Thursday, two probationary troopers graduated from the 86th Indiana State Police Academy, Lateral Class.

One of those probationary troopers, Michael Bertacini, is being assigned to the Indiana State Police Pendleton Post and will begin his next phase of training, which includes a two-month field training period riding with veteran troopers. Upon successful completion of field training, the trooper will be assigned a state patrol vehicle and will begin solo patrol.

These officers have already completed over 800 hours of structured training in law enforcement techniques, as well as hands-on training at the Indiana State Police Recruit Academy. The curriculum included criminal and traffic law instruction, emergency vehicle operations, psychology, crash investigation, self-defense, first responder, and other general law enforcement-related training.

Trooper Bertacini is a native of Oakland, Iowa. He graduated from Riverside High School in 2014. After high school, he continued his education at Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa. He began his law enforcement career at the Kansas City Police Department in Missouri.

During his four-year career at Kansas City, Bertacini received a lifesaving award for his quick actions in providing medical attention to a victim of a shooting.

He later moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he worked for the Nashville Police Department until being hired by the Indiana State Police. While employed by Nashville, he received a letter of commendation from the Chief for his role in apprehending a suspect in a vehicle burglary ring.

Bertacini currently lives in Hamilton County with his fiancée, Colleen. They plan to relocate to Madison County. He will be assigned the north zone patrolling the counties of Madison, Delaware, and Randolph.