Graduates complete more than 800 hours of training to strengthen safety of commonwealth’s citizens
RICHMOND, Ky. (Aug. 27, 2026) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 36 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.
“Kentucky’s law enforcement officers nobly commit themselves to making our communities safer each day, and today these graduates join their ranks and begin a lifetime of service,” Gov. Beshear said. “I ask all of Kentucky to join Britainy and me in praying these officers have a safe, fulfilling 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 572 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 1,965 officers from DOCJT’s basic training academy. Today’s 36 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 36 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 572 graduates and their agencies are:
Peyton Baird, Boyle County Sheriff’s Office
Phillip Bradley, Morehead Police Department
Dalton Carrico, Harrodsburg Police Department
Jacob Crews, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Cody Curtsinger, Radcliff Police Department
Nathaniel Dodd, Pikeville Police Department
Mason Elliott, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Police Department
Dawson Gay, Georgetown Police Department
Ethan Hargis, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office
Trey Hendrix, Williamsburg Police Department
Tyce Hornback, Mt. Washington Police Department
Kennon Kemp, Nicholasville Police Department
Noah Leardon, Elsmere Police Department
Justin Lewis, Radcliff Police Department
Nathan Lucas Georgetown Police Department
Jonathan Mattingly, Meade County Sheriff’s Office
Andrew McCann, Flemingsburg Police Department
Levi McCarty, Pikeville Police Department
Stephan McClellan, Mayfield Police Department
Jordan Mitchell, Springfield Police Department
Preston Napier, Mt. Sterling Police Department
Brandon Parks, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office
Kathryn Piar, Corbin Police Department
Brittany Quire, Shelbyville Police Department
Syrus Ramsey, Pikeville Police Department
Jeffery Richardson, Irvine Police Department
Dalton Sego, Mt. Washington Police Department
Dylan Smith, Boyle County Sheriff’s Office
Daniel, Spidle, Mt. Washington Police Department
Dillon Stevens, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Paul Tucker, Shelbyville Police Department
Daesean VanCleave, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office
Jameson Wall, Martin County Sheriff's Office
Brenton Walters, Georgetown Police Department
Derek Wax, Somerset Police Department
Skylar Wyrick, Hazard 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 Kentucky State Police, each of which has an independent academy.
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, 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.
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