Out of the Woods
PICTURED ABOVE
Instructor Doug Vaughn, a 27-year law enforcement veteran, brings a wealth of knowledge to the Department of Criminal Justice Training as he teaches Kentucky’s law enforcement officers. (Photo by Jim Robertson)
The adage, “Like father, like son,” certainly applies to Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) Instructor Doug Vaughn.
His father was a military police officer during World War II and stationed in Oak Ridge, Tenn., during the time the atomic bomb was developed. The younger Vaughn was enthralled with the stories his father told.
“I always enjoyed hearing his stories and looked up to him for his service during that time,” Vaughn said. “Police officers always intrigued me as they do lots of young kids, but I don’t think I ever lost that intrigue.”
Soon after attending the University of Kentucky, Vaughn realized his childhood dream when joining the Corbin Police Department (CPD) in 1989.
Streets to the Woods
Vaughn served with the CPD for five and a half years before becoming a Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) Conservation Officer.
Interestingly enough, because of certification rules in the 1990s, Vaughn attended DOCJT basic training twice – once for the CPD and again for KDFWR.
“I was in basic class 201 when Corbin sent me, and when I moved over to the KDFWR, there were a few in the class who were certified, but they didn’t have contingency plans for that in place as they do now, so I returned with the non-certified people in class 237,” he explained.
During his 22 and a half years with KDFWR, Vaughn rose to captain's rank before retiring in September 2017.
KDFWR, like other agencies, also has specialized units designed to perform specific tasks. Vaughn got in on the ground floor of one such unit.
“In the early 2000s, the Department of Fish and Wildlife reached out to several officers across the state to start a K-9 program,” Vaughn said. “I was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of three officers to take part in the new pilot program. Over the next 13 years, I served as K-9 handler, with my partner Allie, as a trainer and eventually the K-9 section supervisor.”
The K-9 program was one of the most rewarding times for Vaughn.
“We focused on tracking, evidence recovery (such as guns and spent shells), and wildlife detection,” he explained. “We didn’t do any drug work, but we trained under the same U.S. Customs guidelines that narcotic dogs do. Having a dog enabled me to travel a lot and work with many different officers inside the state and out. We spent five weeks in Indiana and 10 weeks in Florida training. Those connections I made continue today and will last a lifetime. Eventually, my agency ran our own 10-week K-9 training program where we would train our teams and teams from other states such as Tennessee and Maryland.”
Vaughn was also a member of the agency’s emergency response team during his long career.
“It was a unit that would respond mainly to natural disasters in-state and out-of-state to assist other agencies with our specialized equipment such as boats, our four-wheel-drive vehicles, ATVs and UTV’s enabling us to perform law enforcement functions when most other means of local agencies’ conveyance were unable to,” he explained.
Retirement and DOCJT
Given his broad law enforcement experience, it only made sense for Vaughn to continue helping law enforcement once he retired from fish and wildlife.
“Being retired was nice at first, no phone calls, emails, or the responsibilities that go along with being a supervisor in a state agency,” he said. “After a while, after all the chores at home were done, and the smoke cleared, something was missing. It was mainly the day-to-day interaction with likeminded people. DOCJT had always appealed to me, and I always held the instructors in high reverence, so after exploring some options locally in the Pikeville area, I decided to apply and take a chance on the next chapter of my life after speaking to a good friend who had retired from Lexington and recently began to instruct at DOCJT.”
(Photo by Jim Robertson)
After all, Vaughn had been the beneficiary of high-quality training throughout his law enforcement career, which he credits in his ability to move up the ladder.
“Early on in my law enforcement career, my main focus was on tactics, firearms, and other police skills, such as interview and interrogation, crime-scene management, and things like that. Later on, I switched my focus to leadership courses through DOCJT,” he said.
As an instructor at DOCJT since 2019, Vaughn uses his experiences to better law enforcement throughout Kentucky, working in the Patrol Techniques Section.
“We provide in-service training to officers across the state both on-site in Richmond and on the road at various locations,” he said. “We instruct on several topics such as bloodstain, digital photography, crime-scene investigation, shooting-scene reconstruction, and accident-scene investigation.”
The transition from law enforcement officer to instructor has been smooth, as Vaughn finds it easy to relate to those he is now teaching.
(Photo by Jim Robertson)
“I can remember back when I was a young officer training and recall one of the big questions on everyone’s mind was, who is this person was standing in front of us teaching?” he said. “There was always a feeling of satisfaction when they introduced themselves, and we learned that they had spent an extended amount of time in law enforcement before DOCJT. I feel the same holds true today.”
As was the case during his law enforcement career, Vaughn finds great satisfaction teaching Kentucky’s law enforcement community.
“Seeing officers learn a new skill, it’s gratifying when they speak to you after class, or you run into them later,” he said. “They tell me that they enjoyed the class and have put what they learned to use on the job. I feel like my career shaped me and has allowed me to become an instructor who can relate to my students with an understanding of what they need as students.”
