(Source: Madisonville Lions Club/Facebook)
Sean McKinney, Law Enforcement Training Supervisor with the Department of Criminal Justice Training Center, served as the guest speaker at last week’s Madisonville Lions Club meeting.
According to Club officials, McKinney has 29 years of law enforcement experience, which includes serving as Henderson’s police chief for the past two years.
Currently, the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility is operating out of the Madisonville Police Department’s training facility on Industrial Drive while construction of the new facility off Bean Cemetery Road is in progress, with plans to break ground by January 2026.
McKinney shared that the Madisonville location has already graduated its first class, and the current group consists of 18 recruits participating in a 20-week program that covers classroom learning, legal instruction, defensive tactics, firearms, driving, and de-escalation techniques.
McKinney explained that the new training center will be a significant asset for Western Kentucky, enabling recruits to train closer to home rather than traveling to Richmond. He also noted the facility will help reduce academy wait times, which have dropped from as long as eight months after the COVID pandemic to just five weeks.
Lions Club officials thanked McKinney for sharing how this new center will positively impact not only the community but law enforcement statewide.
Lions Club officials expressed their appreciation to McKinney for highlighting the positive impact the new training center will not only impact the local community but law enforcement across the state.
