Kansas Law Enforcement Center announces May graduates
YODER – Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter congratulated 52 new law enforcement officers during their graduation from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) Friday, May 24.
The new officers were members of the 223rd 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 Continuing Education.
The graduates, who began their training Feb. 18, represented 41 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 the 14-week basic training program. The center offered continuing education and specialized training to as many as 5,600 Kansas officers each 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 who granted permission to release their names are listed below by county.
Barton County
Great Bend
Great Bend Police Department; Logan Hall; patrol officer
Hoisington
Hoisington Police Department; Alex Lomas; patrol officer
Bourbon County
Fort Scott
Fort Scott Police Department; James Birket; patrol officer
Butler County
El Dorado
Butler County Sheriff's Office; Randal Mason; deputy
Cherokee County
Columbus
- Cherokee County Sheriff's Office; Tina Blockburger; deputy
- Cherokee County Sheriff's Office; Nicholas Irwin; deputy
Comanche County
Coldwater
Comanche County Sheriff's Department; Angela Brown; deputy
Cowley County
Winfield
- Winfield Police Department; Katasha Bledsoe; patrol officer
- Cowley County Sheriff’s Department; Warner Richardson; deputy
Crawford County
Frontenac
Frontenac Police Department; Louis Bonner; patrol officer
Pittsburg
Pittsburg Police Department; Stephen Aronhalt; patrol officer
Decatur County
Oberlin
Oberlin Police Department; Brad Messersmith; patrol officer
Dickinson County
Abilene
Abilene Police Department; Matthew Badalucco; patrol officer
Doniphan County
White Cloud
Iowa Tribal Police Department; Robert Keller; patrol officer
Ellis County
Ellis
Ellis Police Department; Emmett Casey; patrol officer
Hays
Fort Hays State University Police Department; Joshua Fleenor; patrol officer
Ford County
Dodge City
Dodge City Police Department; Bradley Machiela; patrol officer
Franklin County
Ottawa
Franklin County Sheriff's Office; Ryan Neiswender; deputy
Geary
Grandview Plaza
Grandview Plaza Police Department; John Lytle; patrol officer
Junction City
- Junction City Police Department; Odette Johnson; patrol officer
- Junction City Police Department; Adam Nicholson; patrol officer
- Junction City Police Department; Troy Watson; patrol officer
Labette County
Oswego
Oswego Police Department; Toby Wertz; patrol officer
Lane County
Dighton
Lane County Sheriff’s Department; Justin Pierce; deputy
Leavenworth County
Lansing
Lansing Police Department; Zachary Stamper; patrol officer
Leavenworth
Leavenworth Police Department; Justin Elmer; patrol officer
Leavenworth Police Department; Trevor Harrison; patrol officer
Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office; Zachariah Phillips; deputy
Leavenworth Police Department; Matthew Stawarz; patrol officer
Tonganoxie
Tonganoxie Police Department; Sarah Gumpert; patrol officer
Lyon County
Emporia
Emporia Police Department; Tera Titus; deputy
Neosho County
Chanute
Chanute Police Department; Harry Miller; patrol officer
Pawnee County
Larned
Pawnee County Sheriff's Office; Kelon Parr; deputy
Pratt County
Pratt
- Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism; Tracy Cikanek; natural resource officer
- Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism; Jacob Coulter; natural resource officer; Pratt
Russell County
Russell
Russell Police Department; Jordan Harrison; patrol officer
Riley County
Manhattan
- Riley County Police Department; Timothy Jung; patrol officer
- Riley County Police Department; Ondre Miles; patrol officer
- Riley County Police Department; Bethany Patrick; patrol officer
- Riley County Police Department; Jon Wood; patrol officer
Seward County
Liberal
- Liberal Police Department; Daisey Garcia; patrol officer
- Liberal Police Department; Israel Nieves; patrol officer
Sedgwick-Sumner County
Mulvane
Mulvane Police Department; Steven Shields; patrol officer
Wellington
Wellington Police Department; Joshua Meyer; patrol officer
Thomas County
Colby
- Colby Police Department; Chelston Ketting; patrol officer
- Thomas County Sheriff’s Office; Jonathon Schroeder; deputy
Wabaunsee County
Alma
Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office; Kylor Kraus; deputy
Wyandotte County
Kansas City
- Kansas City Kansas Community College Campus Police; Peter Gregory; patrol officer
- Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department; Michael Simmons; deputy
- Kansas City Kansas Community College Campus Police; Cameron Roland; patrol officer.