The chief of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is retiring early next year.
Col. Kerry Pettingill says he'll step down Feb. 1, 2014, after serving three years as the agency's chief. Pettingill started off as a trooper with the highway patrol in 1982 and worked his way up to chief.
He is a native of Mangum.
Pettingill has also served as director of the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security and as commander of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's bomb squad.
The highway patrol says Pettingill also expanded the state public safety radio system — going from a 12-tower system with 10,000 radios to a 42-tower system with more than 25,000 radios. The $70 million expansion project is still ongoing.
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