Hannibal High grad to retire after 30 years with Missouri Highway Patrol

Published 3:56 pm Monday, July 27, 2026

MACON — Capt. Erik A. Gottman, commanding officer of Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop B, will retire effective August 1 after 30 years of service, Col. Michael A. Turner, the Patrol’s superintendent, announced.

Gottman joined the Missouri State Water Patrol on October 1, 1995, as a member of its 27th recruit class. He rose through the ranks as a water patrol officer, earning promotions to corporal in 1999, sergeant in 2000, and lieutenant in 2007.

When the Missouri State Water Patrol merged with the Missouri State Highway Patrol on January 1, 2011, Gottman was assigned to Troop B, based in Macon. He was promoted to captain on August 1, 2020, and named commanding officer of the troop.

Gottman was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and graduated from Hannibal High School in Hannibal. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Hannibal-LaGrange College in 1995.

Over the course of his career, Gottman completed several leadership training programs, including the Law Enforcement Leadership & Organizational Change Course in 2014, Leadership in Police Organizations training in 2015, and the Police Leadership: The West Point Model Instructor Academy in 2019. He also graduated from the FBI National Academy’s Session 276 in 2019.

Gottman and his wife, Ashley (Biellier) Gottman, have one son, Colton.