Graduates complete more than 800 hours of training to strengthen the safety of the commonwealth’s citizens
RICHMOND, Ky. (May 22, 2025) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 28 law enforcement officers from agencies across the commonwealth have graduated from the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training’s (DOCJT) basic training academy. These law enforcement officers now return home to serve, protect and create a safer new Kentucky home.
“Congratulations to today’s graduates who have dedicated themselves to 20 weeks of extensive basic training,” said Gov. Beshear. “Our commonwealth is a better, safer place because these individuals have answered the call to service. Thank you for protecting your communities and our children’s future.”
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 557 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 2,021 officers from the basic training academy. Today’s 28 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 am proud of your commitment to learning the skills and knowledge presented in the Basic Training Academy and wish you success in implementing this training in your home communities,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “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 28 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 557 graduates and their agencies are:
Chandler M. Adams, West Liberty Police Department
Charles T. Armstrong, Elizabethtown Police Department
Chrysogonus Anthony Tarcisius Avila, Russellville Police Department
James M. Bailey, Greensburg Police Department
Trenton C. Bailey, Taylor Mill Police Department
Johnathan K. Bowling, Murray Police Department
Hunter Broaddus, Radcliff Police Department
Jacob T. Cox, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Brennen W. Decker, Elizabethtown Police Department
Nikkolas A. DeLaCruz, Warren County Sheriff’s Office
Jordan Duncil, Clay County Sheriff’s Office
Ashley N. Elmore, Boyd County Sheriff’s Office
Ethan R. Harris, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
Adam C. Herald, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office
Cogan D. Hill, University of Kentucky Police Department
Justin C. Lewis, Laurel County Sheriff’s Office
Cody L. Lovins, Jackson Police Department
Joseph S. Mattingly, Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office
Steven McCain, Radcliff Police Department
Terrell D. Meadows, Covington Police Department
Austin C. Messer, Florence Police Department
Jeffrey M. Morgan, Florence Police Department
Dakota Smothers, Warren County Sheriff’s Office
Ethan M. Spencer, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Logan R. Taylor, Carrollton Police Department
Isaac Walters, Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office
Miguel R. Wix, Franklin Police Department
Johnathan Wright, Radcliff Police Department
DOCJT provides basic training for city and county police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, university police and airport police throughout the state, only excluding the Louisville Metro Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Bowling Green Police Department, Owensboro Police Department and the Kentucky State Police, each of which have independent academies.
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.
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.
On Feb. 28, the Beshear-Coleman administration welcomed the first basic training academy class to Western Kentucky. 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.
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 the U.S. Military while they undergo law enforcement training at the Department of Criminal Justice Training.
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