KLETC Announces 254th Law Enforcement Training Graduating Class

YODER (Jan. 4, 2019) – Fifty-one new law enforcement officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) on March 8. Independence Police Chief Jerry Harrison was the speaker for the ceremony in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium.

The new officers were members of the 254th basic training class at the center. Located one mile west and one mile south of Yoder, near Hutchinson, the center is a division of University of Kansas Professional & Continuing Education.

The graduates, who began their training Nov. 12, 2018, represented 38 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas.

Graduates receive certificates of course completion from KLETC and Kansas law enforcement certification from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, the state’s law enforcement licensing authority. The training course fulfills the state 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.

Established by the Kansas Legislature in 1968, the center trains the majority of municipal, county and state law enforcement officers in Kansas and oversees the training of the remaining officers at seven authorized and certified academy programs operated by local law enforcement agencies and the Kansas Highway Patrol.

About 300 officers enroll annually in KLETC 14-week basic training programs. The center offers continuing education and specialized training to over 10,000 Kansas officers each year.

Graduates who granted permission to release their names are listed below by county and agency.

Barton County

• Ellinwood Police Department in Ellinwood, KS - Craig Merritt, patrol officer
• Great Bend Police Department in Great Bend, KS – Matthew Barker, Malik Moon, Craig Ramsey, patrol officers

Butler County

• Augusta Department of Public Safety in Augusta, KS – Nathaniel Coffman, Ethan Herrick, patrol officers

Cowley County

• Winfield Police Department in Winfield, KS – Aniya McGowan, Drew Popplewell, patrol officers

Dickinson County

• Abilene Police Department in Abilene, KS - Grant Pratt, patrol officer

Ellis County

• Hays Police Department in Hays, KS - Lane Hoffman, Nicholas Kleiber, patrol officers

Geary County

• Geary County Sheriff's Department in Junction City, KS - Kody Idell, deputy
• Junction City Police Department in Junction City, KS - Darby Zackery Comer, Devin Stamm, patrol officers

Harper County

• Harper Police Department in Harper, KS - Jacob Walter, patrol officer

Harvey County

• Newton Police Department in Newton, KS - Lucas Rindt, patrol officer

Labette County

• Altamont Police Department in Altamont, KS - Brian Sinclair, patrol officer

Leavenworth County

• Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office in Leavenworth, KS - John Dunlap, deputy
• Leavenworth Police Department in Leavenworth, KS - Gabriel Okeke, Linda Whitelaw, patrol officers

Marion County

• Peabody Police Department in Marion, KS - Joshua Wilson, patrol officer

McPherson County

• McPherson Police Department in McPherson, KS - Jason Moen, patrol officer

Miami County

• Osawatomie Department of Public Safety - in Osawatomie, KS - Nina Coleman, patrol officer

Mitchell County

• Beloit Police Department in Beloit, KS - Jaden Flower, patrol officer

Montgomery County

• Coffeyville Police Department - Coffeyville, KS - Terrance Gaston, patrol officer

Neosho County

• Chanute Police Department in Chanute, KS - Miranda Ornelas, patrol officer
• Neosho County Sheriff's Department in Erie, KS - Torry Busby, deputy

Pottawatomie County

• Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office in Westmoreland, KS - Ryan Kidd, deputy

Pratt County

• Kansas Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, & Tourism in Pratt, KS - Derek Kvasnicka, Natural Resource Officer

Reno County

• South Hutchinson Police Department in South Hutchinson, KS - Shannon Heath, patrol officer

Saline County

• Salina Police Department in Salina, KS - Keegan Hays, Aaron Keiswetter, patrol officer

Sedgwick County

• Haysville Police Department in Haysville, KS - Matthew Mellington, Nathan Sooby, Jeremiah Willis, patrol officer
• Valley Center Police Department in Valley Center, KS - Liliana Garcia, patrol officer

Shawnee County

• Washburn University Police in Topeka, KS - Lorenzo Mendez, patrol officer

Sherman County

• Goodland Police Department in Goodland, KS - Jamie McKinney, patrol officer

Smith County

• Smith County Sheriff's Office in Smith Center, KS - Jeremy Presbrey, deputy

Wyandotte County

University of Kansas Medical Center PD in Kansas City, KS, Grant Halderman, Robert Metz, patrol officers

Learn more about the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center.

About the University of Kansas Professional & Continuing Education
KU Professional & Continuing Education supports the teaching, research and public service missions of the University, contributing to postgraduate professional education, workforce development, distance learning and quality of life for Kansans and worldwide communities. Other programming within Professional & Continuing Education includes Professional Programs, Aerospace Short Courses, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and Kansas Fire & Rescue Training Institute. Combined, these programs teach more than 30,000 individuals a year in every county in Kansas, across the United States and internationally. It is headquartered at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kansas.

About the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center
Established by the Kansas Legislature in 1968 as the central law enforcement training facility for our state, the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) serves as the headquarters for all law enforcement training in Kansas.  Located at the former naval air station south of Hutchinson and west of Yoder in Reno County, Kansas, the Center’s mission, as expressed in the Law Enforcement Training Act, K.S.A. 74-5601 et. seq. is “the promotion and development of improved law enforcement personnel and procedures throughout the state, and the training center shall offer to qualified applicants such programs and courses of instruction designed to fulfill this end.”  KLETC directly trains the overwhelming majority of municipal, county and state law enforcement officers in Kansas, and oversees, supervises and monitors the training of the remaining officers at eight authorized and certified academy programs operated by local law enforcement agencies and the Kansas Highway Patrol.