Twenty-six new law enforcement officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) on Friday at a ceremony held in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium.
Deputy Justin Hawks of the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office was the graduating class president. The speaker for the ceremony was Bill Carr, Sheriff for Ford County. Rob McClarty, KLETC Senior Instructor of Police, was the Class Coordinator for the 283rd Basic Training Class.
Officer Atticus Patterson of the Salina Police Department was awarded the Welch Academic Award and Officer Trisha Huelsmann of the Garden Plain Police Department was honored with KLETC’s Fitness Award. Officer Cutter Brazle from the Winfield 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 the University of Kansas Lifelong & Professional Education. The graduates, who began their training in June 2021, represented 22 municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas. Graduates are listed below by county and agency:
Barton County
Nicholas Reed - Great Bend Police Department
Cherokee County
Aaron Cockerel - Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Cowley County
Cutter Brazle - Winfield Police Department
Crawford County
Alexandria Tippie - Pittsburg Police Department
Dickinson County
Justin Hawks - Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office
Jimmy Wallace - Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office
Douglas County
Kaden Hammer - University of Kansas Police Department
Blair Whaley - University of Kansas Police Department
Ellis County
Collin Rose - Hays Police Department
Ellsworth County
Sean Hanson - Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office
Ford County
Luis Marquez - Ford County Sheriff’s Office
Franklin County
Madison Garner - Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Grant Reinking - Ottawa Police Department
Gove County
Darien Dilka - Gove County Sheriff’s Office
Harvey County
Tyson Ridenour - Newton Police Department
Jackson County
Erik Heape - Prairie Band Pottawatomi Tribal Police
Labette County
Ashlynn Anderson - Parsons Police Department
Leavenworth County
Courtney Hobbs - Leavenworth Police Department
Linn County
Allison Fox - La Cygne Police Department
Logan County
Cory Sager - Oakley Police Department
Miami County
Christopher Perkins - Osawatomie Police Department
Riley County
Stephen Zapata - Riley County Police Department
Saline County
Izaiah Grogan - Salina Police Department
Atticus Patterson - Salina Police Department
Sedgwick County
Trisha Huelsmann - Garden Plain Police Department
Wyandotte County
Corey Thomas - Bonner Springs Police Department
. . .
The above story is republished with permission from KLETC.