Gov. Beshear, Department of Criminal Justice Training Announce 22 Officers Graduate From Academy of Police Supervision
On Oct. 2, Gov. Andy Beshear and the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) announced that 22 law enforcement officers from agencies across the commonwealth graduated from the Academy of Police Supervision Class 109.
“This is a brave step forward, not only in your careers, but also in further protecting our commonwealth and our people,” Gov. Beshear said. “Your leadership will make a difference in our goal of creating a safer Kentucky for everyone and I am grateful for your commitment. Congratulations and thank you.”
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.
“APS Class 109 represents law enforcement agencies from every corner of the state and a variety of law enforcement types,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “I’m proud to congratulate these leaders on earning their APS pin and encourage them to lead purposefully and stay humble.”
DOCJT is a state agency located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. The agency is the first in the nation to be accredited under the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies’ public safety training program designation.
Class 109 graduates and their agencies are:
Sgt. Spencer Beam, Boyd County Sheriff’s Office
Sgt. Trevor Bonar, Bellevue Police Department
Sgt. Thomas Cornett, Hardin County Sheriff’s Office
Sgt. William Crank, Covington Police Department
Sgt. Patricia Dietz, Northern Kentucky University Police Department
Sgt. Sean Dooley, Villa Hills Police Department
Sgt. Daniel Fields, Pikeville Police Department
Sgt. Benjamin Fleury, Owensboro Police Department
Sgt. Christopher Gaines, Frankfort Police Department
Lt. Zachary Isler, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport Police Department
Sgt. Jared Kessinger, Kentucky Department of Parks – Ranger Division
Sgt. Ryan Miller, Wilder Police Department
Sgt. Brett Mullins, Lakeside Park/Crestview Hills Police Department
Sgt. Elgin Pettus, Somerset Police Department
Sgt. Daniel Pinet, Warren County Sheriff’s Office
Sgt. Joseph Puleo, Shelbyville Police Department
Sgt. Nicolas Raby, University of Kentucky Police Department
Sgt. Michael Ritchie, Hazard Police Department
Sgt. Billy Roberts, Taylor Mill Police Department
Sgt. Colin Tipps, Georgetown Police Department
Sgt. Keegan Williams, Prestonsburg Police Department
Capt. Adam Wilson, Danville 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.
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.
In April, Team Kentucky 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 completion of the Madisonville campus, the commonwealth is offering basic training in facilities provided by the Madisonville Police Department. As of August, 60 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 2025 Crime in Kentucky report, released in June, shows that, from 2024 to 2025, there was an overall decrease of 8.14% in reports of serious crime.
For four straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2025, the commonwealth saw 22.9% 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 more than $13 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.
For more about the Beshear-Coleman administration’s work to build a safer New Kentucky Home, click here.
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