30 New Law Enforcement Officers Ready To Protect Their Communities
On April 30, 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.
“The public service and sacrifice of the commonwealth’s law enforcement officers is something no Kentuckian takes for granted,” Gov. Beshear said. “My family and I pray for your safety, and we wish you a meaningful and rewarding career.”
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 568 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 1,837 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.
“Over the past 20 weeks, you have engaged earnestly with the instruction and guidance provided by your class coordinator and DOCJT instructors as you prepared for the significant responsibilities ahead,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “I encourage you to carry forward their instruction and fully commit the skills you have learned to heart.”
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 568 graduates and their agencies are:
Tanner Bazarnyj
Graves County Sheriff’s Office
Hunter Beatty
Central City Police Department
Garrett Benight
Cincinnati/Northern KY Airport Police Department
Dustin Bolin
Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office
Jonah Cloninger
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
Jordan Creed
Lawrenceburg Police Department
Brayden Craycraft
Greenup County Sheriff’s Office
Christopher Cruz
Fayette County Sheriff’s Office
Sean Doherty
Murray Police Department
Jay’veon Dunbar
Paducah Police Department
Jayden Embrey
Breckinridge County Sheriff’s Office
Robert French
Cloverport Police Department
Tyler Garner
Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office
Myles Garr
University of Kentucky Police Department
Cameron Jones
Fleming Neon Police Department
Alexander Kropf
University of Kentucky Police Department
Nicholas Labella
Florence Police Department
Jaylen Lawson
Fayette Co. Public Schools Police Department
Cameron London
Franklin Police Department
Andric Lunsford
Hardin County Sheriff’s Office
Chandler Moody
Paducah Police Department
Charles Noe
Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Markus Oxford
Murray City Police Department
Deirdre Rivera
Simpsonville Police Department
Kenneth Shobe
Florence Police Department
Justin Spearman
Allen County Sheriff’s Department
Brian Spencer
Hazard Police Department
Pierce Tussey
Cynthiana Police Department
Billy Watkins
Paris Police Department
Jeromey White
Murray Police Department
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.
Earlier this week, Gov. Beshear broke ground on DOCJT’s new Madisonville campus. When completed, the $50 million project will house two buildings – a 42,800-square-foot classroom and administration building providing learning space, offices and recruit showers and changing areas, as well as a 30,625-square-foot high bay building, which will house an open training area, additional classroom space and gym equipment. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget also allocates $13.1 million to construct a driving track at the new facility. 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.
Until Team Kentucky completes the Madisonville campus, the commonwealth is offering basic training in facilities provided by the Madisonville Police Department. As of January, 37 officers have graduated from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility.
The Governor continues to support law and champion law enforcement. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget also includes funds to raise the annual law enforcement training stipend to $4,746 for full-time officers by 2028 – another all-time high.
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.
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.
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.
