FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Indiana State Police Master Trooper Larry Schenk, who has dedicated the last 34 years of his life to the service of the citizens of the State of Indiana, has announced his retirement from the department. Schenk graduated from the Recruit Academy and was appointed as a Trooper to the Indiana State Police on July 6, 1980. He was assigned to the Fort Wayne Post and patrolled in Allen County for approximately one-and-a-half years before transferring to Huntington County.

During his career, Schenk has served the Department as a Field Training Officer and as a member of the Tactical Intervention Platoon. He has also been a member of the Indiana State Police Alliance for 34 years, serving for at least eight years as the Fort Wayne District Representative and for at least 10 years as the Area II Representative. He was among the first group of Troopers to respond and render aid during the stage collapse at the 2011 Fair. In October of 2012, Schenk was honored by then Superintendent Paul E. Whitesell with the Department’s Combat Action Award for his efforts in dealing with an armed man who had burned his family’s outbuilding down in Huntington County in July of 2009. He opened fire on Schenk and another Trooper as they confronted him the next day.