Gregory named Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E commander

Philip Gregory has been named to replace Capt. Jeff Vitale as the new commander of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E. Vitale recently retired after 30 years with the highway patrol.

“I look forward to the new challenges and working with the other law enforcement agencies in the troop, as well as those in the communities we serve in Southeast Missouri,” said Gregory, who has served as a lieutenant with the Division of Drug and Crime Control since July 2010.

For the past nine years, Gregory supervised District III, which included DDCC units in Troop C and Troop E.

The DDCC officers Gregory supervised investigated homicides, auto thefts, bank robberies, narcotics and public corruption. The division also often provides assistance to local agencies on some investigations, such as homicides.

A Fredericktown, Missouri, native, Gregory joined the highway patrol Aug. 1, 1993, as a member of the 66th Recruit Class.

Upon graduating from the patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy in Jefferson City, he was assigned to Troop E, Zone 11 — Stoddard County.

On June 1, 1995, Gregory transferred to Troop E, Zone 5 — Cape Girardeau, Scott, and Bollinger counties.

In August 1997, Gregory transferred from Troop E to Troop I, Zone 2 — Phelps County, where he was promoted to corporal in September 1998 and designated assistant zone supervisor there.

On Dec. 1, 1998, Gregory transferred to the Division of Drug and Crime Control, General Headquarters — Jefferson City.

While assigned to DDCC, Gregory investigated crimes in Troop E and its 13 counties. He was promoted to sergeant Oct. 1, 2001, and to lieutenant July 1, 2010.

As a lieutenant, Gregory served as an assistant division director.

Gregory is a graduate of the National Training Center of Polygraph Science in New York.

In February 2018, he was honored as the patrol’s criminal investigation division’s Officer of the Year for 2017.

In presenting the award to Gregory, Capt. Paul Kerperin, the division’s director, described him as a “wealth of knowledge” and well respected in Southeast Missouri.

Gregory and his wife, Tanya, have three children and four grandchildren.

Troop E serves 13 counties: Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne.