Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict has announced the graduation of Deputy Sheriff Joe Pursley from the Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) Class #683 on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Pursley trained at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission in Burien.

Deputy Pursley, a press release from the Sheriff’s Office reports, was among 28 other police officers and deputy sheriffs in his class from throughout the State of Washington who began their academy training on May 1.

The Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy curriculum, consisting of 720 hours of instruction, is designed to provide recruit officer and deputy sheriffs with the knowledge and skills necessary for safe, proper and effective law enforcement service.

Instructional Blocks include Criminal Law and Procedures, Traffic Enforcement, Cultural Awareness, Communication Skills, Emergency Vehicle Operations, Firearms, Crisis Intervention, Patrol Procedures, Criminal Investigations, and Defensive Tactics.

Pursley now begins a 14-week, 560-hour, Field Training Officer Program under the guidance and direct supervision of specially trained Field Training Officers selected from within the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department.

Following his successful completion of the Field Training Program, Deputy Pursley will be assigned to the Sheriff’s West End Detachments, serving the numerous communities throughout Clallam County’s West End.

Deputy Pursley is well known on Clallam County’s West End. He is the former youth pastor at Forks Assembly of God Church and was a volunteer chaplain for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department prior to his hiring as a Deputy. 

He and his wife Amber reside in Forks and have two young sons.

He is a 1998 graduate of Port Angeles High School, and graduated from Peninsula College in 2011 with an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts, and soon thereafter obtained his local ministry license.