Hunt will represent Kentucky in premier national leadership development opportunity
SOMERSET, KENTUCKY (January 31, 2022) — Somerset Police Chief William Hunt has been selected to represent Kentucky at the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) National Command Course (NCC).
Scheduled May 2-6 at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., the National Command Course is offered to chief executives of agencies with fewer than 50 sworn officers. Attendees are selected through a competitive nomination and application process to represent metro field offices across the country. The course — created to expose leaders of these agencies to high-level issues and training — offers instruction and facilitation on emerging trends in law enforcement, enhancing partnerships, promoting wellness and seeking innovation.
“Higher-ranking law enforcement officers in many of these smaller jurisdictions have very little opportunity, time or financial resources to attend the FBI National Academy or other advanced law enforcement training courses,” according to a release from the FBI. “The need for strong leadership and contemporary training for these crucial FBI liaison partners is essential; the NCC will bridge this gap.”
Hunt, one of 46 nationwide selected to attend the NCC, will represent the FBI’s Louisville field office and is the only representative from Kentucky.
“The FBI’s National Academy, in my opinion, is situated at the apex of leadership development in our great nation,” Hunt said. “As a career law enforcement officer, developing my leadership skills has been a constant goal. The National Command Course will give me a unique opportunity to expand my law enforcement knowledge at a national level and I am honored to have been selected to represent the Commonwealth.”
Hunt said he is acutely aware of the needs and challenges law enforcement agencies face in Kentucky, but hopes this program will expose him to national trends Kentucky may not have yet experienced.
“This exposure will not only better prepare my agency to face these issues but may also prevent them from ever happening here in the first place,” Hunt said. “Along the way, I hope to also acquire communication skills, leveraging resources and navigating networks that will allow me to apply those skills in law enforcement throughout Kentucky.”
Hunt has spent his 25-year career in law enforcement with the Somerset Police Department, the last five years as its chief of police.
An honor graduate of the United States Air Force Police Academy, he is a member of the Law Enforcement Executive Committee for United States Attorney’s Eastern District of Kentucky; serves as first vice president for the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, becoming president in August 2022; is a member of the Kentucky 911 Advisory Council; serves as chairman of the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force; is a 2021 graduate of Leadership Kentucky, and is a member of the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He is also a deacon of First Baptist Church of Somerset.
In 2020, Hunt received the state’s highest professional honor in law enforcement — the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police Chief of the Year Award.
Somerset Mayor Alan Keck said no one is more deserving of this opportunity.
“Chief Hunt is an exceptional leader who works daily to better himself and the lives of others,” Keck said. “This program will help him significantly on his continuous improvement journey and I’m so excited for him. The information he brings back to Somerset will be invaluable to our police department and our community. We have the best police force in the state led by the best chief in the state. We are truly blessed.”
