New dispatchers provide a lifeline to citizens and law enforcement officers
RICHMOND, Ky. (July 16, 2025) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 19 dispatchers from across Kentucky graduated from the Department of Criminal Justice Training’s Public Safety Dispatch Academy and are now ready to begin answering the call to aid both citizens and law enforcement officers of the commonwealth.
"Dispatchers are the heroes who connect law enforcement with Kentuckians during some of the greatest moments of need, and their work is so important in a time of crisis,” Gov. Beshear said. “I want to thank these graduates for taking on this important job and supporting Kentuckians across the commonwealth. Congratulations and good luck.”
Dispatch basic training is mandatory for any sworn or civilian employee who will dispatch law enforcement officers by radio at a Criminal Justice Information Systems agency. Graduates of the academy have successfully completed a highly structured and comprehensive curriculum to satisfy mandated training requirements. Over four weeks, the graduates of Class 166 received 164 hours of academy instruction to satisfy these requirements. Major training areas included identifying the role and responsibilities of the dispatcher, correct phone and radio procedures, handling emergency and nonemergency calls for service, using emergency medical dispatch protocols and using the state and national criminal databases.
“You are embarking on an honorable career today as certified public safety dispatchers,” DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse said. “The profession you have chosen requires a high degree of commitment, honor and professionalism. I commend you and wish you the best of luck in your careers.
Class 166 graduates and their agencies are:
Echo Sky Haley Abercrombie, Cynthiana-Harrison County E-911
Caitlyn H. Barrett, Paris/Bourbon County 911
Shaina M. Brieschke, Edmonton/Metcalfe 911 Dispatch
Julie A. Burchett, Owensboro-Daviess County Central Dispatch
Skylar M. Coomer, Russell County 911 Dispatch
Kira KayLee DeWitt, Danville Police Department
Calli B. Gooch, Bluegrass 911 Central Communications
Katilyn M. Hauser, Pike County Sheriff’s Office
Ashlyn A. Howell, Kentucky State University Police Department
Steven D. Isaacs, Estill County 911 Dispatch
Ashlie Lloyd, Jefferson County Public Schools Police Department
Aidan T. Michael, Bowling Green Police Department
Caley D. Nichols, Hopkinsville Police Department
Katie G. Roysdon, Whitley County E-911
Harley Brooke Stokes, Todd County Dispatch
Jareny Antonio Vazquez, Lexington E-911
Amanda Y. Virgilio, Elliott County 911
River A. Ward, Ohio County Sheriff’s Office
John W. Withrow, Lexington E-911
DOCJT provides basic training for city and county police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, university police and airport police throughout the state, only excluding the Louisville Metro Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Bowling Green Police Department, Owensboro Police Department and the Kentucky State Police, each of which have independent academies.
The Beshear-Coleman administration’s top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor’s public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.
Last month, 21 officers graduated from the first basic training class from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility in Madisonville. The Beshear-Coleman administration welcomed the class in February. For the first time since basic training became mandatory in 1998, Kentucky is simultaneously offering training in two locations. The Department of Criminal Justice Training will train officers in a building provided by the Madisonville Police Department while Team Kentucky constructs a $50 million multipurpose training facility in Madisonville.
Ensuring Kentucky becomes a national leader in public safety requires equal opportunities for all Kentuckians so they can begin to turn their dreams into reality starting at an early age. On June 4, the Beshear-Coleman administration launched the "Pre-K for All" initiative, which aims to advance the commonwealth's public early childhood education system and job growth. While this is projected to grow Kentucky's workforce and enhance the state’s economy, studies also show that Kindergarten readiness prevents crime and incarceration later in life. A safer New Kentucky Home will be achieved when we reduce recidivism, end generational cycles of crime and addiction by ensuring young Kentuckians have access to quality education.
Recently, Gov. Andy Beshear was joined by members of the Cash family, the Kentucky law enforcement community and the Department of Criminal Justice Training to officially open the doors to the new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty May 16, 2022, while serving as chief deputy of the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office. The Beshear administration broke ground on the Jody Cash Multipurpose Training Facility in July 2023. The facility is a 42,794-square-foot facility with a 50-yard, 30-lane firing range designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support training all of Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies.
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