Lt. Col. Richard Arnold (Past Speaker)

Lt. Col. Richard Arnold was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commander of the State Services Bureau in November 2013.  In this position, Lt. Colonel Arnold serves as one of the department’s four deputy directors and as a member of the department’s Executive Council.  As commander of the State Services Bureau, Lt. Colonel Arnold is responsible for executive direction and leadership of the Biometrics and Identification Division, Forensic Science Division, Office of Highway Safety Planning, Training Division, Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, and many of the department’s traffic safety programs.  Lt. Colonel Arnold also serves as the department’s designee on the Michigan Council on Future Mobility and is a member of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, automated vehicles working group.

Prior to his promotion to the State Services Bureau, Lt. Colonel Arnold served as captain and commander of the Third District where he was responsible for the operation of five MSP posts and five multijurisdictional drug investigation teams operating in the 15 counties that comprise the Third District.  He was also responsible for establishing and operating patrol and investigative teams as part of the Security Cities Partnerships (SCP) crime reduction efforts in the cities of Flint and Saginaw. 

He has also served as senior assistant executive deputy director of the Field Services Bureau at MSP Headquarters in Lansing and as the Seventh District assistant commander, where he was responsible for assisting in the delivery of MSP patrol and criminal investigative services to 19 counties in Northern Lower Michigan.

Lt. Colonel Arnold enlisted with the department in 1994, graduating as a member of the 110th Trooper Recruit School.  He has served in positions at the Bridgeport, Bay City, Flint and Detroit posts.  Lt. Colonel Arnold has held the ranks of trooper, sergeant, lieutenant, first lieutenant, inspector and captain.

Lt. Colonel Arnold received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1994. He is a graduate of the 238^th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and the Fourth School of Staff and Command at Michigan State University.