30 New Law Enforcement Officers Ready to Protect Their Communities
On March 26, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 30 law enforcement officers from agencies across the commonwealth have graduated from the 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.
“By completing the basic training academy today, you are answering a noble call to help protect families across the commonwealth,” Gov. Beshear said. “Know that we are praying for you and your safety each and every day, because we know that’s the least we can do in return for the sacrifices you make in the name of safer communities.”
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 567 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 1,807 officers from the basic training academy. Today’s 30 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.
“I appreciate the commitment shown by Class 567,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “I am confident in the professional service they will offer the citizens they protect across the commonwealth.”
The Beshear-Coleman administration is proud to welcome the 30 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 567 graduates and their agencies are:
Katelyn O. Cook
Georgetown Police Department
Elijah G. Ernest
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Felicia D. L. Eversole
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Sarah N. Foster
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Paul John Froehlich IV
Simpsonville Police Department
Maxon D. Gosser
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Lauren E. Hicks
Nicholasville Police Department
Jonathan D. Jackson
Georgetown Police Department
Isaiah A. Jacobs
Letcher County Sheriff’s Office
Victoria A. Jann
Richmond Police Department
Joshua M. Kerby
Harrodsburg Police Department
Branden S. Land
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Robert I. Miller
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Christopher A. Mitchell
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Bradley J. Moore
Boone County Sheriff’s Office
Jacob T. Moore
Russellville Police Department
Alexander H. Nauert
Oldham County Police Department
Michael Nelson
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Tanner D. Nelson
Campbell County Police Department
Michael Pearson
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Dustin Nicholas Phillips
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
Tyler G. Quigley
Nicholasville Police Department
Jonathan T. Rafferty
Green County Sheriff’s Department
Jacob M. Ratliff
Nicholasville Police Department
Johnathan Rusher
Kentucky State University Police Department
Dayton E. Spille
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Tony Terry
Grayson County Sheriff’s Office
Tyler J. Tucci
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
McKail V. Vanderkolk
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Jaxson L. Youngblood
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
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. For two years in a row, recidivism rates in the commonwealth have decreased, meaning 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 fall 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.
For the first time, Kentucky is simultaneously offering basic training in two locations, Richmond and Madisonville. As of January, 37 officers have graduated from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility, which is currently in a building provided by the Madisonville Police Department. Team Kentucky is in the process of constructing a new, state-of-the-art facility in Madisonville, and Gov. Beshear's 2026-2028 executive budget requests an additional $64.8 million to construct the remaining critical elements of the facility, including an indoor firing range and a driving track.
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.
