DOCJT Public Safety Dispatch Academy Class 126 Graduates

Eighteen law enforcement dispatchers graduated Friday from the Public Safety Dispatch Academy at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training.

The graduates hail from communications centers across the state, and comprise DOCJT’s 126th telecommunications academy class, which first began in 1999.

The students graduating from the Public Safety Dispatch Academy represent the successful completion of a highly structured and comprehensive curriculum. The five weeks of training consisted of 205 hours of academy instruction to satisfy mandated training requirements.

Major training areas included identifying the role and responsibilities of the dispatcher, correct phone and radio procedures, handling emergency and non-emergency calls for service, emergency medical dispatch protocols and use of the state and national criminal databases.

This class included 11 trainees of distinction. To earn this recognition, a student must not fail any tested area, not receive any disciplinary action, earn an evaluation rating of acceptable in every observed category and score an average of 95 percent or higher on all academic tests. Students who achieve this distinction are given a special academy pin to wear on their uniforms.

Greensburg/Green County E-911’s Sammy Leland Scott received the inaugural Legacy Award. The award is given to graduates who have gone well above and beyond what is expected of them.

Additionally, Hardin County 911 Dispatcher Clark Rueda received the academic achievement award and Dispatcher Susan M. Harris, of the Morehead State University Police Department, received the outstanding portfolio award.

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. DOCJT also provides in-service and leadership training for Kentucky public safety dispatchers and law enforcement officers.

DOCJT is a state agency located on Eastern Kentucky University’s campus. The agency is the first in the nation to be accredited under the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies’ public safety training program designation. DOCJT also earned accreditation through the International Association for Continuing Education and Training in 2013.

Class 126 graduates and their agencies are:

Hannah Marie Abbott
Paducah E-911
(Trainee of Distinction)

Taylor M. Adams
Hopkinsville Police Department
(Trainee of Distinction)

Quierra Black
Lexington Enhanced 911

Asheria Sierra Rochea Brown
Campbell County Dispatch
(Trainee of Distinction)

Zackary E. Cornett
Eastern Kentucky University Police Department
(Trainee of Distinction)

Katelynn Morgan Dawson
Lawrenceburg Police Department
(Trainee of Distinction)

Maranda Leann Evans
Bullitt County Dispatch
(Trainee of Distinction)

Susan M. Harris
Morehead State University Police Department
(Trainee of Distinction)

Tessa Jaggers
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

Penny L. Jones
Russell County Dispatch

Jordan V. Kelly
Hopkinsville Police Department
(Trainee of Distinction)

Belinda Reese
Fayette County Sheriff’s Office

Jennifer Ashley Robinson
Hopkinsville Police Department

Clark Rueda
Hardin County 911
(Trainee of Distinction)

Sammy Leland Scott
Greensburg/Green County E-911
(Trainee of Distinction)

Holly Angelique Simpson
Oldham County Dispatch

Matthew J. Walker
Corbin Police Department
(Trainee of Distinction)

Mahala A. Wilson
Leslie County 911