Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center graduates 286th Basic Training Class
HUTCHINSON – Twenty new law enforcement officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) on Dec. 10 at a ceremony held in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium.
Officer Mike Adams of the Moundridge Police Department was the graduating class president. The speaker for the ceremony was Darren Chambers, sheriff of Sumner County. Steve McCorkill, KLETC senior instructor of police, was the class coordinator for the 286th Basic Training Class.
Richard Hedges of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks was honored with KLETC’s Fitness Award. Hedges set a new running record at KLETC by running a mile and a half in 8 minutes, 16 seconds. Jesse Andrews of the El Dorado Police Department was recognized during the ceremony for his firearms proficiency as the class’s “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 August 2021, represented 15 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas. Graduates are listed below by county and agency:
Butler
Nicholas Hatcher, Augusta Department of Public Safety
Jesse Andrews, El Dorado Police Department
Cherokee
Cameron Pinyan, Galena Police Department
Elk
Joseph Mueller, Elk County Sheriff’s Office
Franklin
Jordan Burrow, Ottawa Police Department
Leavenworth
Brayden Thuney, Leavenworth Police Department
McPherson
Michael Adams, Moundridge Police Department
Osage
Felix Nunez, Osage County Sheriff’s Office
Osborne
Mathew Pfannenstiel, Osborne County Sheriff’s Office
Pratt
Richard Hedges, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Scott
Luke Hayes, Scott City Police Department
Jaime Salazar, Scott City Police Department
Sedgwick
Giovanni Del Real, Derby Police Department
Nicholas Hale, Derby Police Department
Toby Gray, Mulvane Police Department
Shawnee
Yvonne Lawton, MTAA Police & Fire Department
Sumner
Travis Farnsworth, Sumner County Sheriff’s Office
Joel Carter, Sumner County Sheriff’s Office
Wallace
Ronnie Cloyd, Wallace County Sheriff’s Office
Wyandotte
D’Angelo Bushnell, Kansas City Kansas Community College Campus
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, a unit of the University of Kansas Lifelong & Professional Education, 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.
Right photo: Darin Beck and Mike Adams, 286th Training Class president.