KU Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center announces 41 May graduates

HUTCHINSON -- Forty-one new law enforcement officers were honored at a May 23 graduation ceremony at the University of Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in southern Reno County after completing a 14-week basic training program.

The graduates represent 35 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas. They received certificates for course completion and Kansas law enforcement certification from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Commission, the state's law enforcement licensing authority.

The training course fulfills the 560-hour state-mandated requirement for law enforcement training. Classroom lectures and hands-on applications help train officers to solve the increasingly complex problems they face in the line of duty.

The KLETC is a unit of the KU Continuing Education program. Established in 1968 as the central law enforcement training facility for the state, the center is located west of Yoder at a former naval air station.

KLETC directly trains the majority of municipal, county and state law enforcement officers in Kansas and oversees and monitors the training of the remaining officers at seven authorized and certified academy programs operated by local law enforcement agencies and the Kansas Highway Patrol. In addition, KLETC maintains and monitors the employment and training histories of all Kansas law enforcement officers in the Central Registry, created in 1982 by the Kansas Legislature for that purpose.

About 450 officers are trained annually at the center, which offered continuing education and specialized training to more than 2,500 Kansas officers last year.

Funding for the training center is generated from court docket fees from municipal and state courts. No funds from the state's general revenue are used to operate the center.

Graduates, their positions and their law enforcement by county are:

ALLEN COUNTY
Deputy Tim Beckham, Allen County Sheriff's Department, Iola
Deputy William R. Bradshaw, Allen County Sheriff's Department
Chief R. Shane Smith, Moran Police Department

BOURBON COUNTY
Officer Jesse Brower, Fort Scott Police Department
Patrol Officer Toby Nightswonger, Fort Scott Police Department

COWLEY COUNTY
Patrolman Ryan Williams, Arkansas City Police Department
Patrolman John Eric Jarvis, Winfield Police Department

FRANKLIN COUNTY
Patrol Deputy Brian J. Ferguson, Franklin County Sheriff's Office
Patrol Officer Adam Sorell, Wellsville Police Department

GRANT COUNTY
Patrolman Matthew E. Meairs, Ulysses Police Department

KINGMAN COUNTY
Officer Dustin Morris, Kingman Police Department
Deputy Sheriff Jack Justin Nowak, Kingman County Sheriff's Department

LABETTE COUNTY
Patrol Officer Eddie Royer, Chetopa Police Department
Patrolman Jeremy Beau Shaw, Oswego Police Department

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY
Patrol Officer Shannon Marie Inman, Leavenworth Police Department

NEOSHO COUNTY
Patrol Officer Thomas L. John, Chanute Police Department

MCPHERSON COUNTY
Chief Darrell Elvin, Marquette Police Department

MIAMI COUNTY
Officer Brent M. Ball, Louisburg Police Department

MORRIS COUNTY
Deputy Don Smies, Morris County Sheriff's Department

NEMAHA COUNTY
Patrolman Jago Livengood, Sabetha Police Department

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY
Deputy Eric Y. Green, Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office Patrolman Jarrod Sheldon, Wamego Police Department

RENO COUNTY
Officer Jessica M. Dickerson, Hutchinson Police Department

RILEY COUNTY
Patrol Officer Chad W. Jager, Kansas State University Police Department
Patrol Officer Parrish Quick, Kansas State University Police Department

SALINE COUNTY
Officer Chad Hein, Salina Police Department

SEDGWICK COUNTY
Conservation Officer John S. Allred, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Wichita

SHAWNEE COUNTY
Officer Brett Hoss, Metro Topeka Police Authority

SUMNER COUNTY
Deputy Brandon Stitt, Sumner County Sheriff's Department