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Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center graduates 283rd Basic Training Class
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YODER — Twenty-six new law enforcement officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) on Oct. 1 at a ceremony in KLETC’s Integrity Auditorium. 

Local graduates are Nicholas Reed, Great Bend Police Department, and Sean Hanson, Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office.

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 more than 10,000 Kansas officers each year. KLETC is located 1 mile west and 1 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.