Whitley County men commissioned as police officers

Two Whitley County men in addition to some other area residents were recently commissioned as law enforcement officers.

Williamsburg Police Officer Johnny Fulton, left, recently graduated from the police academy. He is seen with Sgt. Brandon White.

Williamsburg Police Officer Johnny Fulton graduated from the basic training Friday at the Department of Criminal Justice Training in Richmond, and was part of Class 492. Officers in the class completed 23 weeks of basic training.

The Kentucky State Police Academy presented diplomas to 42 new troopers, including Rockholds’ Aaron Harris, at a ceremony that were held in Frankfort Friday. Their addition to the force brings the agency’s strength to a total of 874 troopers serving the citizens of the commonwealth.

The new troopers are part of the agency’s 96th cadet class. They reported for training on Jan. 7, 2018, in a class that consisted of 75 cadets. During the program 33 resigned.

The training included more than 1,000 hours of classroom and field study in subjects such as constitutional law, juvenile and traffic law, use of force, weapons training, defensive tactics, first aid, high speed vehicle pursuit, criminal investigation, computer literacy, hostage negotiations, evidence collection, radio procedures, search and seizure, crash investigation, drug identification, traffic control, crowd control, armed robbery response, land navigation, electronic crimes, sex crimes, hate crimes, domestic violence, bomb threats and hazardous materials.

Several members of the class earned special recognitions including valedictorian Jacob Harper of Somerset, and salutatorian Jarrod Lewis of London.

Nine cadets earned Associate’s Degrees in General Occupational and Technical Studies from the Bluegrass Community and Technical College during the training, including Harris, Harper, and Shane Bowling and Shakori Needham, both of London.

“These cadets are the first to benefit from new hiring guidelines established by the legislature in 2017,” notes KSP Commissioner Rick Sanders. “Previously, applicants were required to have 60 hours of college credit, two years of active duty military experience or two years of certified police officer experience. Now, anyone who possesses a high school diploma or GED and has three years of full-time work experience can apply for employment as a Kentucky State Trooper and earn an associate’s degree during the training process.”

The following is a list of the new troopers from the region, their duty assignments and their hometowns or residences:

• POST 3, BOWLING GREEN – Harris, Lewis and Aaron Tucker of Stearns.
• POST 8, MOREHEAD – Needham and Ralph Bowling of London.
• POST 9, PIKEVILLE – Matthew Barger of Barbourville.