Ken Wallentine

Ken Wallentine is the Chief of the West Jordan (Utah) Police Department. Ken is the former Chief of Law Enforcement for the Utah Attorney General, having served over three decades in public safety. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death. Chief Wallentine serves as a use of force consultant in state and federal criminal and civil litigation across the nation. He has achieved the prestigious Force Science Advanced Specialist® certification.

Chief Wallentine directed the Attorney General Training Center, overseeing use of force training and de-escalation training program, and he was a Senior Advisor to the Officer-Involved Critical Incident Investigation Team. He formerly served as Bureau Chief of the POST Investigations Bureau and as Administrative Counsel for Utah Department of Public Safety. A law enforcement officer since 1982, he has also been a practicing public attorney. In 2010, Governor Gary Herbert selected Chief Wallentine for the Governor’s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Public Service.

As a prosecutor, he led the team that founded the nation’s first rural Drug Court in 1998. Ken Wallentine served as Chief Deputy County Attorney. He prosecuted sex crimes against children, violent crimes and homicides. He has served as the Special Prosecutor in a number of challenging cases, including the murder of a fellow chief of police.

Chief Wallentine was a founding member of the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation. He is a featured writer in law enforcement journals. He is the editor of the national criminal procedure newsletter, Xiphos, and a regular columnist for PoliceOne.com and Police Chief.

Ken’s deskbook on criminal procedure,Street Legal: A Guide for Police, Prosecutors & Defenders, was published by the American Bar Association Publishing Company and is widely used in law schools and criminal justice programs. His most recent book,The K9 Officer’s Legal Handbook, 2nd Ed., was published by LexisNexis.