JASON LEVY
Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center
YODER, Kan. — Twenty-four new law enforcement officers, including officers from Hutchinson, Haven and Newton, graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) on April 8th at a ceremony held in the KLETC Integrity Auditorium.
Deputy Charles Wheaton of the Edwards County Sheriff’s Office was the graduating class president. The speaker for the ceremony was Chief Courtney Prewitt of the Garden City Police Department. Mike Satterlee, KLETC Senior Instructor of Police, was the Class Coordinator for the 291st Basic Training Class.
Steven Phillips of the Haven Police Department was recognized during the ceremony for his firearms proficiency as the class’ “Top Shot”. Jesyka Boots from the Hutchinson Police Department and Jayden Banks from the Newton Police Department also graduated from the area.
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 January 2022, represented multiple municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas.