FARMINGTON -- If you're driving under the influence through Davis County, watch out. Lisa Steed will find you. The five-year Utah Highway Patrol veteran and West Point resident, has been named Trooper of the Year, after an astounding 200 DUI arrests this year and 750 in the course of her career. Steed is the first female to be named Trooper of the Year. The honor is not only a feather in the cap of women, but for troopers working in Davis County Steed, whose name is frequently seen as the officer on accident and arrest reports coming out of Davis County, began her career as a dispatcher, but sitting behind a desk all day ultimately wasn't for the petite trooper, and she decided to go back to school, earning a degree in criminal justice from Weber State University. "Go-ing into law enforcement was a fluke thing," Steed said. She said she looked at serving at a number of agencies and decided upon the Highway Patrol. "There's more freedom (with the UHP), more chance to be proactive."

With so many arrests of impaired drivers under her belt, Steed almost seems to have an instinct about finding them. And she's undergone training specifically on how to detect those impaired by substances other than alcohol.

And it's been a priority for her since the early portion of her career. "I saw the potential for saving lives by getting impaired drivers off the road. You might say I made it my forte," she said.

During a Monday evening interview, Steed said that she occasionally has wound up arresting someone on DUI charges she's arrested before. It doesn't happen often, but she told of pulling over one man who immediately recognized her and said so. She said it took her a minute to remember him, and then she was able to say, "Yeah, I arrested you about six months ago, didn't I."

While that situation doesn't happen often, Steed has a pretty good memory for those she's pulled over.

She said getting criminals off the road is the best part of the job. The worst is trying to investigate accidents during the winter when there's so many accidents.

But she's made herself known for much more than that, taking calls for accidents, helping out other troopers and assisting the public, according to Sgt. Shane Norfeldt.

She's been described by co-workers and superiors alike as a great trooper and an asset to the agency. Norfeldt said that in addition to Steed being extremely motivated, she works well with the public.



mwilliams@davisclipper.com