31 New Law Enforcement Officers Ready To Protect Their Communities
On October 16, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 31 law enforcement officers from agencies across the commonwealth have graduated from the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training’s (DOCJT) basic training academy in Richmond. These law enforcement officers now return home to serve, protect and create a safer New Kentucky Home.
“Kentucky’s law enforcement officers are the best of the best, and today you take on the sacred duty of protecting our communities,” Gov. Beshear said. “The path you’ve chosen is one of sacrifice and duty, and all of Team Kentucky thanks you for answering the call.”
DOCJT is committed to providing officers with best practices, the latest technology training and legal information to protect the diverse communities they serve. The graduates of Class 562 received more than 800 hours of recruit-level instruction over 20 weeks. Major training areas included patrol procedures, physical training, vehicle operations, defensive tactics, criminal law, traffic and DUI, firearms, criminal investigations, cultural awareness, bias-related crimes, and tactical responses to crisis situations.
Since December 2019, the Beshear-Coleman administration has graduated 2,182 officers from the basic training academy. Today’s 31 graduating law enforcement officers will begin working with the 8,000 other officers of the commonwealth to create a commonwealth that is safer for all Kentuckians.
“Today’s graduation is more than the conclusion of basic training — it marks the start of a lifelong commitment to service, integrity and the protection of our communities,” DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse said. “Each of these recruits has earned the badge, along with the responsibility to uphold the highest standards of law enforcement.”
The Beshear-Coleman administration is proud to welcome the 31 new law enforcement officers into the partnership of public safety. Along with all those currently serving in law enforcement, graduates will play key roles in the ongoing effort to make each of Kentucky’s communities safer.
Class 562 graduates and their agencies are:
Austin Akers
Pikeville Police Department
Kyle Beatty
Murray Police Department
Dylan Belcher
Pike County Sheriff’s Office
Joshua Bogle
Cadiz Police Department
Mark Brooks
Paducah Police Department
Eric Burke
Floyd County Sheriff’s Office
Dennis Cannon
Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office
Ian Clark
Bellevue Police Department
Joshua Cothern
Lebanon Junction Police Department
George Edmiston
Pike County Sheriff’s Office
Harold Golden
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office
Mitchel Grater
Irvine Police Department
Jayson Graves
Springfield Police Department
Jamil Hester
Kentucky State Police University Police Department
Ryan Jones
McCreary County Sheriff’s Office
Victor Jones
Independence Police Department
Johnathan Kohler
Bellevue Police Department
John Martini
Florence Police Department
Anndrew Masden
Hartford Police Department
Landon Meredith
Hart County Sheriff’s Office
Nathaniel Morgan
Leslie County Sheriff’s Office
Tyler Newville
Hazard Police Department
Zackary Nicholson
Louisville International Airport Police Department
David Pennington
Floyd County Sheriff’s Office
Steven Richardson
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
Caleb Rogers
Hazard Police Department
Aaron Spencer
Florence Police Department
Tyler Storie
Richmond Police Department
Braden Thacker
Barren County Sheriff’s Office
Malcolm Trent
Hazard Police Department
Wade Webb
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
DOCJT provides basic training for city and county police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, university police, airport police throughout the state, only excluding Louisville Metro Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Bowling Green Police Department and the Kentucky State Police, which each have independent academies.
DOCJT is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). CALEA is seeking public input regarding DOCJT’s compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. Click here to submit comments.
Beshear-Coleman Administration Commitment to Making Kentucky a National Leader in Public Safety
The Beshear-Coleman administration’s top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor's public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.
In June, 21 officers graduated from the first basic training class from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility in Madisonville. The Beshear-Coleman administration welcomed the class in February. For the first time since basic training became mandatory in 1998, Kentucky is simultaneously offering training in two locations. The Department of Criminal Justice Training will train officers in a building provided by the Madisonville Police Department while Team Kentucky constructs a $50 million multipurpose training facility in Madisonville.
Last spring, Gov. Andy Beshear was joined by members of the Cash family, the Kentucky law enforcement community and the Department of Criminal Justice Training to officially open the doors to the new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty May 16, 2022, while serving as chief deputy of the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office. The facility is a 42,794-square-foot facility with a 50-yard, 30-lane firing range designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support training all of Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies.
Since taking office, Gov. Beshear has awarded nearly $12 million in grant funding to assist state and local law enforcement agencies with enhancing public and officer safety, curbing the sale of illegal drugs and fighting addiction.
At the beginning of his second term, the Governor proposed a $500 increase to the law enforcement annual training stipend, but the General Assembly chose to provide a combined $262 increase over the next two years. The budget signed by the Governor raises the training stipend to an all-time high of $4,562 by fiscal year 2026. Additionally, the Governor is providing part-time law enforcement officers with an annual training stipend for the first time in the history of the commonwealth.
In June 2022, Gov. Beshear announced the Military to Law Enforcement Program (M-2-LE). M-2-LE allows local law enforcement agencies in Kentucky to hire active service members within all U.S. military branches during their last 180 days of service. Upon being contracted by a law enforcement agency, the military member will continue to receive their pay and benefits from their branch of the armed forces while they undergo law enforcement training at DOCJT.
