Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center graduates 274th Basic Training Class


The 274th basic training class takes their oath during the graduation ceremony Feb. 26 in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium.

HUTCHINSON — Twenty-seven new law enforcement officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) on Feb. 26 at a ceremony held in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium. 

KLETC Executive Director Darin Beck awards Officer Samantha Snell of the Galena Police Department with the KLETC Certificate of Commendation for her actions in the performance of her duties.Deputy Luke Davis of the Gray County Sheriff’s Office was the graduating class president. The speaker for the ceremony was Chief Nelson Mosley of the Rose Hill Police Department. Mike Satterlee, KLETC senior instructor of police, was the class coordinator for the 274th Basic Training Class.

Officer Samantha Snell of the Galena Police Department was recognized by KLETC Executive Director Darin Beck and awarded a KLETC Certificate of Commendation for her actions in the performance of her duties. Snell, along with Officer Logan Grant of the Galena Police Department, risked their lives on Jan. 18 in an attempt to save victims of a fiery two-vehicle head-on crash. Grant will be recognized when he graduates March 19.

Jonathon Dunfee of the Kansas City Public Schools Police Department was also recognized during the ceremony for his firearms proficiency as the class “Top Shot.”

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, KLETC 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. KLETC offers continuing education and specialized training to over 10,000 Kansas officers each year. KLETC is located one mile west and one mile south of Yoder, near Hutchinson, and is a division of University of Kansas Lifelong & Professional Education.

The graduates, who began their training in October 2020, represented 23 municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas. Graduates are listed below by county and agency:


Brown
• Brock Becker, Horton Police Department
• Chance Johansen, Hiawatha Police Department

Butler
• Peyton Heidebrecht, Rose Hill Police Department

Cherokee
• Samantha Snell, Galena Police Department

Douglas
• Andrew Miller, KU Public Safety
• Austin Kost, Eudora Police Department

Ellis
• Lindsey Clayton, Hays Police Department

Franklin
• Andrew Dougan, Ottawa Police Department

Grant
• Neal Baker, Ulysses Police Department

Gray
• Luke Davis, Gray County Sheriff’s Office

Johnson
• Darien Willis, Kansas City Public Schools Police Department
• Jonathon Dunfee, Kansas City Public Schools Police Department

Kiowa
• Sean Kost, Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office

Leavenworth
• Derrick Weller, Lansing Police Department

Lyon
• Benjamin Folks, Lyon County Sheriff’s Office

Pottawatomie
• Luis Vargas Baez, St. George Police Department

Rawlins
• Michael Runkle, Rawlins County Sheriff’s Office

Reno
• Michael Mendez, Reno County Sheriff’s Office
• Adam Scalisi, Reno County Sheriff’s Office
• Camron Hurley, Hutchinson Police Department

Saline
• Trenton Shaft, Saline County Sheriff’s Office

Seward
• Malerie Denson, Liberal Police Department

Sherman
• Tanner Feasel, Goodland Police Department
• Chalee Luther, Goodland Police Department

Thomas
• Justin Barber, Colby Police Department

Washington
• Kolt Cooper, Washington County Sheriff’s Office
• Joshua Kramer, Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

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.

Top photo: The 274th basic training class takes their oath during the graduation ceremony Feb. 26 in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium.                                                                                                                                                              
Right photo: KLETC Executive Director Darin Beck awards Officer Samantha Snell of the Galena Police Department with the KLETC Certificate of Commendation for her actions in the performance of her duties.

Tue, 03/02/2021

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Jason Levy

Media Contacts

Jason Levy

Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center

620-694-1400