As Florida’s population booms, the state’s troopers face mounting challenges with low pay, long hours, and critical staffing shortages.
Fla. News Network —It’s 2 a.m. on I-95, and a rookie Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper is staring down a mangled SUV after a hit-and-run. Backup? Forty-five minutes away. Medical help? Even longer. This isn’t a scene from a dystopian thriller—it’s Tuesday night for Florida’s highway patrol. With the state’s population surging past 22 million, FHP’s 1,900 sworn officers are drowning in a perfect storm of staff shortages, brutal overtime, and pay that lags behind fast-food managers.…