Gov. Beshear, Department of Criminal Justice Training Announce 24 Officers Graduate from the Academy of Police Supervision
On April 17, Gov. Andy Beshear and the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) announced that 24 law enforcement officers from agencies across the commonwealth graduated from the Academy of Police Supervision Class 105.
“Law enforcement is one of the highest callings,” Gov. Beshear said. “All of Kentucky thanks you for your leadership and commitment to building safer communities across our commonwealth.”
The Academy of Police Supervision, also called the sergeant’s academy, is a three-week, 122-hour training program targeted for newly promoted sergeants or officers who are on their agency’s promotion list to become sergeants. The academy was launched in 2003 as a leadership course aimed at developing and shaping current and future leaders in law enforcement agencies across the commonwealth.
The program provides a deep dive into how to positively influence groups of people, as well as how to apply situational leadership, demonstrate an understanding of constitutional and administrative law, emotional and social intelligence, ethical decision-making, problem-solving, emotional survival and public speaking.
“Your class represents law enforcement agencies from across the commonwealth and a diverse range of disciplines,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “I am proud to congratulate these leaders on earning their APS pin and encourage them to lead with purpose while remaining humble.”
APS Class 105 graduates and their agencies are:
Sgt. Chris Anderson
Hillview Police Department
Sgt. Joshua Bennett
Owensboro Police Department
Sgt. Thomas Bugsch
Bowling Green Police Department
Sgt. Matthew Carman
Jeffersontown Police Department
Sgt. Frederick Matthew Coomes
Daviess County Sheriff’s Office
Lt. Tyler Day
Hazard Police Department
Sgt. Justin Doll
Oldham County Police Department
Sgt. David Evans
Logan County Sheriff’s Office
Lt. Tyran Furlong
Somerset Police Department
Sgt. Caleb Goodrich
Winchester Police Department
Assistant Chief Justin Gunterman
Central City Police Department
Sgt. William Hendrickson
Paducah Police Department
Sgt. Christopher Kohut
Flatwoods Police Department
Sgt. Michael Langston
Henderson Police Department
Sgt. Timothy Lee
Scott County Sheriff’s Office
Sgt. Ethan Livingood
Covington Police Department
Sgt. Barry Manley
Berea Police Department
Sgt. Michael Martinez
Richmond Police Department
Sgt. Daniel Preder
Kenton County Police Department
Sgt. Adam Prince
Grant County Sheriff’s Office
Sgt. Eric Radford
Versailles Police Department
Sgt. Joseph Ramey
Russell Police Department
Sgt. Justin Swope
Murray Police Department
Sgt. Cameron Thomason
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.
Gov. Beshear continues to support and champion law enforcement. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget allocates $13.1 million to construct a driving track at DOCJT’s new Madisonville facility and provides funds to raise the annual law enforcement training stipend to $4,746 for full-time officers by 2028 – another all-time high. The General Assembly did not include the full $64.8 million requested by the Governor in his executive budget proposal to construct both a driving track and an indoor firing range at the Madisonville facility.
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.
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 2025, 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.
