Troopers Bethany R. Lamphere and her daughter, Trooper Meagan L. Hartmann, are the first mother-daughter legacy to serve together in the Uniform Force of the New York State Police
Bethany Lamphere grew up in Poland where she and her seven siblings were raised on a 200-acre dairy farm. Bethany jokes that she started her life backwards, having her son, Justin, and getting married at the age of 16. Shortly after, she had her daughter Meagan, and then another son, Robert Jay.
After being married for eight years, Bethany found herself longing for a meaningful career. She wanted more from life and for her children than the odd jobs she was working were able to provide. A born caregiver, Bethany longed for a career that provided something different each day and that would involve helping people. She decided that she wanted that career to be with the New York State Police.
At 24, she began classes at Mohawk Valley Community College to earn the required college credits that would make her eligible to attend the New York State Police Academy when and if that time came. In 1997 she took the New York State Police entrance exam and three years later, on October 30, 2000, at the age of 27, she walked through the front doors of the New York State Police Academy in Albany, New York, as a member of the 184th Session of the Basic School.
As it was for most recruits, the academy proved to be very difficult physically, mentally, and emotionally. This was the first time that she had ever been away from her children who were now twelve, ten, and six years old. Despite the difficulty, Bethany graduated from the academy in April, 2001. After graduation her first assignment was Troop D, SP Carthage. She trained there and at SP Watertown and SP Lowville as her secondary stations. After training, she remained in SP Lowville for four and a half years where she was selected to become a Field Training Officer. After SP Lowville she transferred to Troop D, SP Remsen. She was soon appointed to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation as an Investigator at SP Marcy, where she remained for two and a half years. Bethany decided she missed being on the road, and transferred back to the uniformed force.
She was stationed at SP Poland before returning to her current assignment at SP Remsen. SP Remsen has proven to be her favorite station, and she has spent nine years serving the Remsen patrol area. Bethany has come to be known as “Mamma Bear” to her peers as well as her colleagues in other agencies. Over the years Bethany has also taken part in details in New York City after the terror attacks of September 11th, a later security detail at New York City’s Grand Central Station, and is a regular part of the New York State Fair Detail.
Just like all Troopers, Bethany’s family and friends have heard countless stories from the road throughout her career. Her daughter Meagan, who lives in Remsen with her son, Ethan, and her fiancé, Paul, has a couple true favorites from the years. Her favorite one involved her mom saving an elderly woman’s life. It was a Sunday morning in August 2005 when dispatch contacted SP Remsen and told Bethany that a car would be pulling into the station parking lot with an elderly female in the rear seat that was in full cardiac arrest. Bethany barely had time to tell her Sergeant and coworkers what was going on when the car pulled in. Bethany and other SP Remsen members went into action and helped the woman as her daughters stood by. Bethany and another investigator performed CPR on the woman until she regained a pulse and started to breathe. The woman was transported to the hospital by the local ambulance. The woman’s family was blessed with many more years with their loved one thanks to the heroic actions of Bethany and all the members of SP Remsen that day.
That story was the beginning of Meagan considering a career in law enforcement. She had listened to that and many other stories of her mom arresting the bad guys and going out of the way to help the good guys. Meagan decided that she wanted to do those things too, and in 2013 Meagan informed Bethany that she also wanted to become a Trooper. Bethany was so excited when Meagan gave her the news, but tried to remain neutral in Meagan’s decision. She wanted Meagan to make the decision for herself and not just decide to take the test because she felt her mom wanted her to do it.
Meagan attended Herkimer County Community College to obtain her required college credits. She continued pursuing her dream and took the New York State Police entrance exam scoring a 97%, beating her mom’s score of 94%. She started to prepare physically in order to be able to achieve the standards required to pass the next portion of the process – the physical agility test. The time came and Meagan passed the physical agility test with flying colors.
In late March, 2016, twenty five year old Meagan got the call she had been waiting for. Meagan called Bethany with the news that she had been accepted to the 204th Session of the New York State Police Basic School. They cried together on the phone with excitement. It was not only Meagan’s chance to make her dream come true, but during Meagan’s processing, they had learned that if Meagan successfully graduated from the academy she and Bethany would be the first ever mother and daughter duo to serve in the Uniformed Force of the New York State Police at the same time. That night Bethany went to her daughter’s house to wish her luck. She gave her daughter the best advice she had: take one week at a time, or even one day at a time if she had to. But to never give up. She told Meagan that she would get pushed beyond what she could physically do but she needed to show the academy training officers that she would not stop trying. Emotions were high that night as with most recruits going into the academy. Meagan said goodbye to her mom and said “I am going, and I’m going to do this – besides we have to make history!”
On March 30, 2016 Meagan walked through the front doors of the New York State Police Academy just as mom had done. Both Meagan and Bethany agree that although the physical and mental requirements of the academy were extremely difficult for them the emotional part of leaving their children behind was the toughest. When Meagan shared her academy stories on the weekends there were a lot of similarities from when Bethany attended, however Meagan’s class was different in that it had the most female recruits ever to attend the academy. Meagan pressed on for six grueling months.
On October 12, 2016 Bethany proudly presented her daughter Meagan with her shield at the Shield Ceremony for the graduating recruits of the 204th Session of the Basic School. On October 13, 2016, Meagan graduated from the New York State Police Academy along with 225 classmates. Meagan’s first assignment will be in Troop C, SP Oneonta. Her family and friends are very proud of her accomplishments. As she sets her sights on her first day on the road, mom of course had more advice for Meagan. First and foremost, stay safe and come home to your family at the end of your shift. Secondly always carry the knowledge and determination to survive anything that they instilled in you in the academy while you’re out on the road. Use the tools that they have given you to make that happen if you have to, and never forget or change who you are as a person in your heart.
It is with great dignity and pride that Bethany R Lamphere and her daughter, Meagan L. Hartmann, serve together in the New York State Police. They both feel it is an honor to be able to be part of the great history and future of protecting and serving the people of this state for such an elite agency.