Graduates complete more than 800 hours of training to strengthen the safety of the commonwealth’s citizens
RICHMOND, Ky. (June 26, 2025) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 38 law enforcement officers from agencies across the commonwealth have graduated from the Kentucky 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.
“Our law enforcement has a long history of serving and protecting this great commonwealth. Today, you all become part of this legacy,” Gov. Beshear said. “Thank you for stepping up to serve. We pray for your safety and wish you all fulfilling and successful careers.”
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 559 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 2,080 officers from the basic training academy. Today’s 38 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.
“Today you leave this academy and have earned more than the honor of carrying a badge,” DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse said. “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 38 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 559 graduates and their agencies are:
Naim J. Ashshadi, Elizabethtown Police Department
Devin D. Blakey, Russell County Sheriff’s Office
Robert Dylan Bright, Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Ethan B. Brown, Whitesburg Police Department
Logan D. Burton, Jamestown Police Department
Christopher S. Caudill, Hazard Police Department
Logan D. Conner, Richmond Police Department
Colby W. Cornett, Williamsburg Police Department
Glen Dean, Frankfort Police Department
Andrew H. Delatorre, Simpson County Sheriff’s Office
Trevor A. Eskes, Boone County Sheriff’s Office
Hannah Marie Falci, Elizabethtown Police Department
Tyler A. Falci, Elizabethtown Police Department
Dylan Bryce Eugene Fike, Boone County Sheriff’s Office
Anthony Gibson, Estill County Schools Police Department
Mekenzie H. Helton, Somerset Police Department
Jeffery Lee Hollenbeck, Madison County Sheriff’s Office
Joseph R. Hopper, Louisville Regional Airport Police Department
Jiei Imaide, University of Kentucky Police Department
James Imhoff, University of Kentucky Police Department
Joshua L. Jackson, Bardstown Police Department
Sabrina A. Lewis, Williamsburg Police Department
Lucas Mann, Covington Police Department
Christian Marcum, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office
Hunter M. McCue, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Wendell D. Mocabee, Morehead Police Department
Jack A. Neal, Frankfort Police Department
Jeremy A. Purvis, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Dominic N. Pusey, Harrodsburg Police Department
John T. Runion, Richmond Police Department
Ryan N. Sams, Bell County Sheriff’s Office
Atticus Reese Sexton, Richmond Police Department
Michael S. Sheperson, Harrodsburg Police Department
Ryan A. Simpson, Leslie County Sheriff’s Office
Aaron Clark Smith, Cumberland Police Department
Elijah P. Tally, Boone County Sheriff’s Office
Collin M. Thomerson, Bardstown Police Department
Donald Todd, McKee 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.
Last week, 21 officers graduated from the first basic training class from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility in Madisonville. The Beshear-Coleman administration welcomed the class in February. 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.
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.
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 their branch of the armed forces while they undergo law enforcement training at DOCJT.
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