Administration & Instructor Bios

Director

William N. Kain

William N. Kain assumed the position of Director at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy and Executive Secretary of the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission in January 2022.  Prior to assuming his current role, he worked for the Tennessee Board of Regents system as Director of Public Safety at Roane State Community College and as Chief of Police for all of TBR.  Kain graduated from basic training at TLETA in 2010, where he began his career with the University of Tennessee Police Department.  He worked for UTPD and the City of Clinton police departments before becoming Chief of Police for the City of Baneberry in 2015 and the City of Norris in 2017.  Kain has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science degree in criminal justice from Bethel University as well as holding POST certified instructor status in firearms, patrol rifle, use of force and emergency vehicle operations.

Assistant Director

Thad Dorris

Education:
B.S. in Criminal Justice
M.S. - Criminal Justice Administration

Previous Experience:
Springfield Police Department, 1997-2016
Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, 1995-1997

Certifications:
EVO Instructor
Firearms Instructor
Below 100 Instructor
Police Cyclist Instructor
RADAR/LIDAR Instructor
Crash Reconstructionist
Master Instructor

Supervisor of Training

Keith Dunn

Education:
BS- Business Management
MS- Administration of Justice and Security

Previous Experience:
Hendersonville Police Department, 2000-2010
Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department, 1998-2000

Certifications:
EVO Instructor
Firearms Instructor
General Police Instructor
Police Motor Instructor
Police Radar Instructor
PT Instructor (Cooper Institute)
Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Instructor

Instructor per Spec

Scott Wilder

Education:
B.S., Middle Tennessee State University in Criminal Justice, 1995
             24 hours post graduate work in Criminal Justice, 1998
J.D., Nashville School of Law, 2004
             Tennessee Bar License #24796

Previous Experience:
Metro Nashville Police Officer for 11 years with assignments in SWAT/SRT; K9; Intelligence Division, and East Patrol Sections.
Special Investigator (Civilian) with the Army CID Command in Iraq and Afghanistan investigating improvised explosive devices and post blast scenes in the Global War on Terror. 2 year continuous to deployment.
Private Legal Practice-6 years; Nashville, TN with focus in Criminal and Family Law; numerous jury trials as well as Appellate Court experience.
State of Tennessee- Attorney for Commerce and Insurance-POST/TLETA 2015-2016;
State of Tennessee-Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Attorney 3 Legal Advisor for Criminal and Drug Investigations Divisions and Crime Lab.

Certifications:
Tennessee Supreme Court Bar License #24796; Metro Nashville Police Department Adjunct Firearms Instructor (while assigned to SWAT) to Training Academy with certification on multiple weapons systems from Gunsite Academy, Professional Responsibility Inc., Bill Rogers Shooting School, Louis Awerbuck’s Yavapai Shooting Academy, Pat McNamara TAPS Pistol, Red Hawk Defense Systems, Metro Police Advanced Firearms and Tactics Classes, Metro Police Advanced SWAT Certification, Metro Police Certifications in Combat Handgun, Tactical Carbine, Patrol Rifle, HK MP5, Tactical Shotgun. Law Enforcement Physical Fitness Trainer Certification from Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Legal Issues in Law Enforcement
Search and Seizure Law
Juvenile Law
Firearms and Tactics Instructor in Handgun, Shotgun and Carbine
Physical Fitness Instructor

Instructor per Spec

Charles Alexander

Education:
B.S. (Criminal Justice) 2013

Previous Experience:
Murfreesboro Police Department – Crime Suppression Unit and SWAT Team

Certifications:
Defensive Tactics Level 1 and 2 Instructor
Special Weapons and Tactics
Field Training Officer

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Defensive Tactics and Physical Training

Other:
Professional Mixed Martial Artist

Instructor per Spec

Kristy Kelley

Education:
B.S. Middle Tennessee State University

Previous Experience:
Murfreesboro Police Department, January 2004 - November 2017

Certifications:
Child Sex Abuse
Crisis Intervention Team Instructor and Training
Domestic Violence
Emergency Vehicle Operations
Mental Health

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Crisis Intervention and Domestic Violence Tactics
Emergency Vehicle Operations
General Subjects

Instructor per Spec

Korey Cooper

Education:
BS, Southwest University
MS, Southwest University
MPS, Tennessee State University 

Previous Experience:
TN Department of Correction-Office of Investigation & Compliance, 2012-2019
Columbia Police Department, 1995-2012
Maury County Sheriff's Department, 1994-1995 

Certifications:
Criminal Street Gangs Instructor
Firearms Instructor
General Police Instructor
Investigative Techniques Instructor
Mobile Forensics Instructor
Narcotics Instructor
SWAT Instructor
Traffic Stops Instructor

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Criminal Investigations
Criminal Street Gangs
Building Search Techniques
General Subjects
Traffic Stops

Instructor

Zach Baggett

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Active Attack Response
Patrol Tactics and Techniques

Instructor

James Eubank

Education:
B.S., University of Tennessee at Martin, 1998
M.S., Bethel University, 2013

Previous Experience:
Sergeant-Special Operations Division, City of Dickson Police Department, 2018
Detective-Criminal Investigations Division, City of Dickson Police Department, 2009-2018
Corporal/Field Training Officer, City of Dickson Police Department, 2006-2009
Special Operations Response Team member, 2004-2015
Patrolman, City of Dickson Police Department, 2002-2006

Certifications:
P.O.S.T. Certified Instructor
Firearms Instructor
Emergency Vehicle Operations Instructor
General Police Instructor
Advanced Traffic Crash Investigation
Criminal Investigations
Master Patrol Officer
Field Training Officer

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Emergency Vehicle Operations
Ambush
Hostage Response and Barricaded Suspects
Response to Armed Robbery
Basic Criminal Investigations for New Detectives

Instructor

Aaron Ferguson

Education:
Auburn University

Previous Experience:
Williamson County Sheriff's Office, 2004-2021

Certifications:
Domestic Violence Instructor
Emergency Vehicle Operations Instructor
Lethality Assessment Instructor
Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor
Law Enforcement Rifle Instructor

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Firearms
Lethality Assessment Program
Domestic Violence

Instructor

Holden Foster

Education:
B.S. in Sports Management from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Previous Experience:
Dickson Police Department (6 years)

Certifications:
Defensive Tactics Instructor

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Defensive Tactics 
Physical Training

Instructor

Lane Hardin

Education:
B.S. Health and Human Performance - University of Tennessee, Martin

Previous Experience:
Strength and Conditioning Coach (2015-2019)
Gallatin Police (2019-2024) – SWAT, Bike Patrol, FTO, K9

Certifications:
DT Instructor
Police Mountain Bike
Basic SWAT
Domestic Violence Investigations
Street Level Narcotics
FTO
USPCA Detection K9 Handler

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Defensive Tactics
Physical Training

Other:
D1 athlete- shot put UT Martin
Strength and conditioning coach for individuals from middle school to professional athletes
Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Instructor

Trey Clanton

Education:
B.S. in Liberal Studies, Criminal Justice, Health and Safety - MTSU

Previous Experience:
Shelbyville Police Department, 1991-2017               
Supervisor over Crash Team, G.D.I. for Police Department, Field Training Officer Supervisor

Certifications:
Crash Reconstruction
EVOC Instructor thru TLETA and FLETC
Advanced EVOC Instructor thru FLETC
Firearms Instructor
Instructor Development
Master Instructor Development
Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Instructor
Surefire Low Light Tactics Instructor
Taser Instructor
TIMS Instructor
Titan Crash Reporting Instructor

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Firearms
Crash Investigation
Emergency Vehicle Operations
Low-Light Tactics

Instructor

Dee Reynolds

Education:
BS Education - University of Tennessee at Martin
MA Instructional Leadership - Tennessee Tech University
EdS Instructional Leadership - Tennessee Tech University

Previous Experience:
Four years Lebanon Police Department- MPO
23 years in Education and Administration

Certifications:
EVO Instructor
Firearms Instructor
PT Instructor
LAP Coordinator
CIT Trainer

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Emergency Vehicle Operations
LAP/DV
Duty to Intervene
Report Writing
Positive Police Interactions with the Public

Instructor

Adam J. Yokley

Education:
M.S. (Criminal Justice), Bethel University
B.S. (Criminal Justice - Graduated Summa Cum Laude), Bethel University

Previous Experience:
Loudon County Sheriff's Office, 2001-2018
Knox County Sheriff's Office, 2000-2001
United States Army (Military Police), 1996-2000

Certifications:
Master Instructor, Advanced Instructor, SSGT Defensive Tactics, EVOC Instructor, Firearms Instructor (FBI), Police Observer/Sniper (FBI), Basic SWAT (FBI), Officer Survival, SFST Instructor, TASER Instructor, S.T.O.P.S. Instructor, PPCT Spontaneous Knife Defense, A.R.I.D.E, Less-than-Lethal, K.O. Combative Instructor

Specialties Taught at TLETA:
Firearms
DUI
First-Aid
Civil Process

Instructor (Part-Time)

Pat Looper

Education:
J.D., Nashville School of Law, Nashville, Tennessee, 2000
B.S., magna cum laude, University of Tennessee, 1996

Previous Experience:
Police Consultant: January 1992 – present
TLETA Instructor: March 1989 – November 2000
Tennessee State Trooper: July 1984 – October 1994

Specialities Taught at TLETA:
Legal