16 Officers Graduate From Second Class at Western Kentucky Basic Training Academy
On January 8, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 16 law enforcement officers from agencies across the commonwealth have graduated from the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training’s (DOCJT) basic training academy in Madisonville. These law enforcement officers now return home to serve, protect and create a safer New Kentucky Home.
“You have answered the call to protect your communities and our commonwealth in such a noble way, and today starts the next chapter in that journey,” Gov. Beshear said. “Know that all of Team Kentucky is praying for you and your safety, and we are looking forward to the good we know you will do.”
Class 564 is the second to graduate from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility in Madisonville. In June 2025, 21 officers graduated from the first basic training class held in Western Kentucky. For the first time since basic training became mandatory in 1998, Kentucky is simultaneously offering training in two locations. DOCJT is training officers in a building provided by the Madisonville Police Department while Team Kentucky constructs a $50 million multipurpose training facility in Madisonville. Since opening in February 2025, 37 officers have graduated from the Western Kentucky academy.
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 564 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 1,718 officers from the basic training academy. Today’s 16 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.
“During the past 20 weeks you have listened earnestly to the training and guidance from your class coordinator and instructors here at DOCJT,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “I urge you to remember their instruction and commit the skills you take with you to heart. Their voices of experience will serve you well as you serve your community.”
The Beshear-Coleman administration is proud to welcome the 16 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 564 graduates and their agencies are:
David Barbeau
Murray Police Department
Caydon Bean
Madisonville Police Department
Ronald Black
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office
Adrian Dickerson
Marion Police Department
Tyler Duncan
Murray Police Department
Steven Ealey
Madisonville Police Department
Christian Fowler
Henderson Police Department
Isaac Gaston
Henderson Police Department
Bryan Holland
Paducah Police Department
Chez Jones
McCracken County Sheriff’s Office
Ethan Levill
Madisonville Police Department
Austin Long
Fulton Police Department
Andrew Steinmetz
Elizabethtown Police Department
Bobby Turner
Graves County Sheriff’s Office
Brandon Vargas
Livingston County Sheriff’s Office
Cody Witt
McCracken 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.
Protecting the commonwealth’s schools are a top priority of Team Kentucky. In August, the Governor announced that 1,315 Kentucky public schools are following statutory safety requirements required by the School Safety and Resiliency Act and that the number of school resource officers protecting schools has increased more than 100% since he took office.
Since Gov. Beshear took office, fewer Kentuckians have returned to prison after their release. In February, it was announced that nearly 70% of those released from state custody have not returned.
The 2024 Crime in Kentucky report, released in June, shows that, from 2023 to 2024, there was an overall decrease of 7.66% in reports of serious crime.
For three straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2024, the commonwealth saw 30.2% fewer overdose deaths than the year prior. Gov. Beshear continued this progress last month by scheduling 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as a Schedule I narcotic, making it illegal to sell, possess or distribute any isolated or concentrated forms of 7-OH in the state.
In April 2025, Gov. Beshear officially opened the doors to the new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty. The facility is designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support 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 annual law enforcement training stipend, but the General Assembly chose to provide a combined $262 increase over the next two years. The budget signed by the governor has raised the stipend to an all-time high while expanding it to part-time officers for the first time in state history.
In June 2022, Gov. Beshear announced the Military to Law Enforcement Program (M-2-LE), which 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.
