MONTANA
Cherie Lofton ’99
State trooper, Montana Highway Patrol

Montana State Trooper Cherie Lofton (B.A. ’99) once rescued a truck driver trapped in a semi that had rolled onto train tracks. She wasn’t able to get the driver out, so she called the railroad. The engineer stopped the train just 27 feet from the truck.

Still, she doesn’t consider this the highlight of her career.

“I cannot think of just one accomplishment that I could say is my greatest,” Lofton said. “I try to be a well-rounded officer.”

Lofton, who lives in Helena, says she isn’t sure exactly where her interest in law enforcement came from, but her family definitely had a hand in it.

“My father was a deputy in Arizona and later a police officer in Montana,” Lofton said. “I think his stories over the years sparked my interest.”

Lofton says her UMKC education exposed her to new ideas that have been crucial in her law enforcement career.

“Attending UMKC gave me the opportunity to meet people from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds,” she says. “This has been very beneficial to me in my job as I deal with a large variety of people on a regular basis.”

Lofton was recently appointed to a committee that creates programs for stress management and mental health care for officers, something she is deeply passionate about.

“Law enforcement officers are susceptible to cumulative stress and post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the ups and downs of the job,” she says. “Self-care is important.”