SPD Officer Free named 'Top Shot,' to Director's Honor Roll
Seventy new law enforcement officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) on Friday at a ceremony held in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium.
The large class size was designed to prevent disruption to Kansas law enforcement and to ensure there was no additional delay in training created by the suspension of on-campus classes in the spring of 2020 due to COVID-19.
Christopher Engle-Tjaden of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation was the graduating class president. Mike Satterlee, KLETC Instructor of Police and Class Coordinator for the 268th Basic Training Class, was the speaker for the ceremony.
Officers Aaron Free of the Salina Police Department and Charles Semenko of the Scott City Police Department were named to the Director’s Honor Roll. Officer Semenko was also awarded the Larry Welch Award of Academic Excellence while Officer Free was recognized as the class “Top Shot.” Randy Baily and Caleb Dickey of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office both won the Top Fitness award for most miles, with Dickey also being named the most improved.
The 268th also raised more than $1,700 for the Children's Advocacy Centers of Kansas (CACKS). This money will be going to a project that will benefit children across the state called My Backpack. Class president Engle-Tjaden presented CACKS Executive Director Juliane Walker a check on behalf of the class.
The graduates, who began their training in June 2020, represented 42 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas. Graduates who granted permission to release their names are listed below by county and agency:
Barton County
Kevin Norton - Great Bend Police Department
Butler County
Jacob Blevins - El Dorado Police Department.
Walter Clayton - Butler Community College Dept. of Public Safety.
Thomas Maloney - Butler County Sheriff’s Office
Cloud County
Alan Garcia - Concordia Police Department
Comanche County
Devon Duffield - Coldwater Police Department
Cowley County
Jessica Floyd - Udall Police Department
Crawford County
Gregory Adelman - Mulberry Police Department
Dickinson County
Angel Martinez-Rivera - Abilene Police Department
Finney County
Julio Morales - Garden City Police Department.
Idris Muhammad Patterson - Garden City Police Department.
Morgan Withington - Garden City Police Department
Franklin County
Dustin Van Leiden - Ottawa Police Department.
Kevin Virosteck - Ottawa Police Department
Geary County
Robert Benzer - Junction City Police Department.
Steven Clarke - Junction City Police Department.
Diamond Denson - Junction City Police Department.
Gus Falter - Junction City Police Department.
Demetrius Jones - Junction City Police Department.
David Nolting - Junction City Police Department
Harvey County
James Morris - Harvey County Sheriff’s Office
Kearny County
Noah Everett Parnell Day - Kearny County Sheriff’s Office
Leavenworth County
Austin Dyche - Leavenworth Police Department
Logan County
Julie Eskew - Oakley Police Department
Marion County
Matthew Regier - Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Miami County
Andrew Gonzalez - Paola Police Department.
Christopher Lee - Miami County Sheriff’s Office
Montgomery County
Joe Elliott - Caney Police Department
Neosho County
Hayden Cole - Chanute Police Department
Norton County
Courtney Kaus - Norton Police Department
Pottawatomie County
Peter Paras - Pottawatomie Police Department
Reno County
Madaline Carr - Hutchinson Police Department.
Lance Fairchild - Hutchinson Police Department.
Tyler Proctor - Hutchinson Police Department.
Braden Stewart - Hutchinson Police Department.
Francisco Gutierrez - Reno County Sheriff's Office.
Matthew Lutz - Reno County Sheriff's Office.
Ethan Price - Reno County Sheriff's Office
Riley County
Gibson Joseph Akers - Kansas State University Police Department.
Nicholas Coffey - Riley County Police Department.
Benjamin Tracy - Riley County Police Department
Saline County
Patrell Brown - Salina Police Department.
Curtis Cooke - Salina Police Department.
William Dickerson - Salina Police Department.
Aaron Free - Salina Police Department.
Haylee Harris - Salina Police Department.
Koby Ingalsbe - Salina Police Department
Scott County
Jared Odea - Scott City Police Department.
Charles Semenko - Scott City Police Department
Sedgwick County
Ryan Aden - Cheney Police Department.
Benjamin Deaver - Derby Police Department.
Zachary Nolan - Clearwater Police Department.
Madison Smith - Wichita State University Police Department
Seward County
Juan Salas - Liberal Police Department.
Taylor Shuman - Liberal Police Department
Shawnee County
Randy Bailey - Shawnee County Sheriff's Office.
Caleb Dickey - Shawnee County Sheriff's Office.
Christopher Engle-Tjaden - Kansas Bureau of Investigation
Trego County
Derek Hoskinson - WaKeeney Police Department
Wyandotte County
Casey Dalton - University of Kansas Med Center Police Department.
Joshua Thomas - Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office.
Thomas Williams - Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office
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.
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