YODER – Sixty-three new law enforcement officers were congratulated by Craig Floyd, president and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, during their graduation from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center on Sept. 30.
The new officers were members of the 241st 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 June 20, represented 48 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.
Northwest Kansas graduates who granted permission to release their names are listed below by agency:
Ellis County
Hays Police Department; Jock Felzien; patrol officer; Hays
Hays Police Department; Jacob Graham; patrol officer; Hays
Hays Police Department; Scott Heimann; patrol officer; Hays
Ellis Police Department; Avery Smith; patrol officer; Ellis
Sherman County
Goodland Police Department; Whitney Ullom; patrol officer; Goodland
Thomas County
Thomas County Sheriff’s Office; Samantha Shepherd; deputy; Colby