38 New Law Enforcement Officers Ready To Protect Their Communities
On June 26, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 38 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.
“Our law enforcement has a long history of serving and protecting this great commonwealth. Today, you all become part of this legacy,” Gov. Beshear said. “Thank you for stepping up to serve. We pray for your safety and wish you all fulfilling and successful careers.”
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 559 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 2,080 officers from the basic training academy. Today’s 38 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 you leave this academy and have earned more than the honor of carrying a badge,” DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse said. “You now carry with you the responsibility of serving with honor, integrity, fairness and transparency. Take this responsibility to heart and the people you protect will see how much you care.”
The Beshear-Coleman administration is proud to welcome the 38 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 559 graduates and their agencies are:
Naim J. Ashshadi
Elizabethtown Police Dept.
Devin D. Blakey
Russell Co. Sheriff’s Office
Robert Dylan Bright
Marion Co. Sheriff’s Office
Ethan B. Brown
Whitesburg Police Dept.
Logan D. Burton
Jamestown Police Dept.
Christopher S. Caudill
Hazard Police Dept.
Logan D. Conner
Richmond Police Dept.
Colby W. Cornett
Williamsburg Police Dept.
Glen Dean
Frankfort Police Dept.
Andrew H. Delatorre
Simpson Co. Sheriff’s Office
Trevor A. Eskes
Boone Co. Sheriff’s Office
Hannah Marie Falci
Elizabethtown Police Dept.
Tyler A. Falci
Elizabethtown Police Dept.
Dylan Bryce Eugene Fike
Boone Co. Sheriff’s Office
Anthony Gibson
Estill Co. Schools Police Dept.
Mekenzie H. Helton
Somerset Police Dept.
Jeffery Lee Hollenbeck
Madison Co. Sheriff’s Office
Joseph R. Hopper
Louisville Regional Airport Police Dept.
Jiei Imaide
University of Kentucky Police Dept.
James Imhoff
University of Kentucky Police Dept.
Joshua L. Jackson
Bardstown Police Dept.
Sabrina A. Lewis
Williamsburg Police Dept.
Lucas Mann
Covington Police Dept.
Christian Marcum
Clinton Co. Sheriff’s Office
Hunter M. McCue
Jefferson Co. Sheriff’s Office
Wendell D. Mocabee
Morehead Police Dept.
Jack A. Neal
Frankfort Police Dept.
Jeremy A. Purvis
Montgomery Co. Sheriff’s Office
Dominic N. Pusey
Harrodsburg Police Dept.
John T. Runion
Richmond Police Dept.
Ryan N. Sams
Bell Co. Sheriff’s Office
Atticus Reese Sexton
Richmond Police Dept.
Michael S. Sheperson
Harrodsburg Police Dept.
Ryan A. Simpson
Leslie Co. Sheriff’s Office
Aaron Clark Smith
Cumberland Police Dept.
Elijah P. Tally
Boone Co. Sheriff’s Office
Collin M. Thomerson
Bardstown Police Dept.
Donald Todd
McKee Police Dept.
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.
On June 18, 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.
Recently, 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 Beshear administration broke ground on the Jody Cash Multipurpose Training Facility in July 2023. 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.
