Contact: Kathy Johnson

UK Police Chief Fred Otto III

The KLEC provides professional certification under its Career Development Program, a voluntary program that awards several specialty certificates allowing law enforcement officers and telecommunications personnel to structure their training process to align with career objectives.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 25, 2004) -- University of Kentucky Police Chief Fred Otto III became the first chief to receive a Law Enforcement Chief Executive Officer Certificate from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council (KLEC), which governs training for all of the state’s law enforcement officers. This is a new certification for those who hold the highest level position in a law enforcement agency.

The certification requires a minimum of 30 hours of college credit, the completion of more than 100 hours of training in skills specific to a chief executive officer, and at least two years experience as a chief, sheriff or director.

“It is an honor to receive the certificate from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council,” Otto said. “It is even more gratifying to be the first police chief to receive the Law Enforcement Chief Executive Officer Certificate.”

Otto, who became UK’s chief of police in 2003, received a bachelor’s degree in police administration and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University. He has completed a variety of other law enforcement training programs, including the FBI National Academy.

During his career Otto has served as chief of police at the University of Missouri and for the city of Highland Heights in Northern Kentucky. He also served as a Kentucky state trooper, director of public safety at Northern Kentucky University, and assistant director of public safety at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

The KLEC provides professional certification under its Career Development Program, a voluntary program that awards several specialty certificates allowing law enforcement officers and telecommunications personnel to structure their training process to align with career objectives.

“We reviewed over 90 applications from all over the United States in our search for a new University of Kentucky Police chief, and Fred’s experience, education, enthusiasm and dedication stood out among all of those applicants,” said Ken Clevidence, associate vice president for UK Campus Services. “This latest accomplishment gives credence to the decision we made in selecting him as our chief. He has already moved the department to new levels of professionalism in his relatively short tenure at UK.”