CO state patrol had 4 pilots when I was asking them some questions a few years back. 1 in GJT and the other 3 at APA. There was the 3-5 years on the ground as a trooper before applying and the other factor was that the hiring was done based pretty much on attrition. And the turnover was pretty slow...
I went some fly-alongs with them. That was fun stuff for a low time pilot because they let me fly most of the time.