30 New Law Enforcement Officers Ready to Protect Their Communities
On Nov. 5, 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.
“Thank you for committing yourselves to making communities across our commonwealth safer,” Gov. Beshear said. “Protecting the public isn’t an easy job, but you’ve put in the time and energy required to prepare yourselves for what comes next, and all of Kentucky is grateful for your selflessness and bravery.”
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 574 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 2,028 officers from DOCJT’s 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.
“Congratulations on completing this important first step in your law enforcement careers,” DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse said. “Take from the academy what you have learn and rely on your training to keep you and your communities safe.”
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 574 graduates and their agencies are:
Major Aishe, Paducah Police Department
Kyle Beckness, Paris Police Department
Damien Bednar, Radcliff Police Department
Hayley Bratcher, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Ashley Burdette, Frankfort Police Department
Rylan Cadaret, Lebanon Police Department
Dakota Conrad, Irvine Police Department
Gabriel Cutair, Paducah Police Department
Mathew Gaudern, Radcliff Police Department
Clayton Harless, Prestonsburg Police Department
Camden Hendrickson, Middlesboro Police Department
Hunter Hinton, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Lauren Jackson, Scott County Sheriff’s Office
Jonathan Kissick, Scott County Sheriff’s Office
Aaron Klein, Scott County Sheriff’s Office
Cole Layton, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office
James Matthews, Scott County Sheriff’s Office
Brian Mendez, Henry County Sheriff’s Office
Jonathan Osborne, Madison County Sheriff’s Office
Austin Rasmussen, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Austin Rogers, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Landen Rogers, Florence Police Department
Ethan Ross, Franklin Police Department
Luke Schwenke, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office
Taeryn Selby, Nicholasville Police Department
William Siemionko, Paducah Police Department
Jacob Summers, Lebanon Police Department
Monyreth Thachan, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office
Gary Tussey, Elliott County Sheriff’s Office
Blake Wethington, Scott County Sheriff’s Office
Class 574 video
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
In April, DOCJT broke ground on the Department of Criminal Justice Training West: Gaines-Brown Campus in Madisonville, which, when completed, 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 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 Gaines-Brown campus, Team Kentucky 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.
LATEST NEWS
LATEST ROLL CALL
LATEST BLUEGRASS BEAT
FOLLOW US