Gary Mattingly has been named the new Daviess County Public Schools Police Lead Special Law Enforcement Officer (SLEO). Mattingly succeeds Brad Youngman, who will soon begin his role as Daviess County Sheriff. DCPS also announced three new hires, ensuring the police force will be fully staffed heading into the next semester.
Officers Jared Ramsy and Jeff Payne are also both leaving the DCPS Police to join Youngman at the Sheriff’s Office. The command changes will go into effect on January 1.
Mattingly said he is looking forward to the opportunity as the Lead SLEO.
“DCPS Police will continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to keep our DCPS family safe,” he said. “My goal for the DCPS Police is to ensure the SLEO program has a distinguished future, building from the vision of the DCPS Board Members and Superintendent Matt Robins. I want to give thanks to Officer Brad Youngman for his support and creating a great foundation to work from.”
Mattingly is a current SLEO stationed at Daviess County Middle School. He will continue to serve DCMS and surrounding elementary schools in his new role. Mattingly has more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement working for the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, Owensboro Police Department, and Hancock County Sheriff’s Office. He also was a member of the Kentucky National Guard for 8 years and has been a member of the United States Army Reserve since 2018.
Remaining on the force in their current roles are officers Paul Mattingly (stationed at Daviess County High School), Gary Klee (College View Middle School) and Tim Gray (Burns Middle School).
New additions to the DCPS Police force are officers Katie Hunter, Clint Earnest, and Craig Sutter.
Hunter will be stationed at Apollo High School. She has previously served as a former detective, Ohio County Sheriff Sergeant, and Ohio County High School School Resource Officer.
Earnest will serve as part of the East County Elementary Patrol Team (meaning he rotates between schools on the east side). He comes to DCPS with 33 years of service in the U.S. Army Reserves and time as a retired OPD Sergeant and SWAT Team member.
Sutter will serve as part of the West County Elementary Patrol Team. He has served as a former Nicholasville and Western Kentucky University Police Officer. He ended his career retiring from OPD.
Youngman reflected positively on the experience he’s had while leading the DCPS Police.
“My time at DCPS and the connections and friendships that I have made during my time here will always mean a lot to me,” he said. “This is truly the best place that I have ever worked. We have worked very hard during the past several weeks to identify the best personnel to round out our SLEO ranks and I feel very confident that I am leaving our DCPS Police in great hands. Officer Gary Mattingly is as familiar with the ins and outs of the DCPS Police as anyone possibly can be, and I know that he will do a great job leading these fine police officers. I will always be grateful to the DCPS Board Members and Superintendent Matt Robbins for the opportunities they gave me to be a part of this project.”
