How to Become a Police Officer in Killeen, Texas

The city's own Employment With Killeen Police Department page says applications must be completed online and are available only during hiring cycles. City of Killeen Jobs 302s to UKG. UKG 6138490 listed 18 city jobs this retrieval. There was no Police Officer or Probationary Police Officer requisition on that list. The Eligibility List (PDF) linked from Employment is a blank table.

The pay-plan footnote: Certified Officer / 12 months probation; Non-certified Officer / 18 months probation. Officers hired on Step 1. Pay increases are effective with the completion of the probationary period of 18 months. This is a Non-Civil Service position.

Killeen Fire, Killeen ISD PD, and Citizens Police Academy hire on separate schedules. This page covers Killeen PD.

The license is TCOLE's. The job is Killeen PD's. Those are two gates. The Texas sequence is in How to Become a Police Officer in Texas. The license rules are in TCOLE peace officer license requirements. This page is Employment, the FY 26 pay plan, the Hiring Process PDF, Minimum Requirements, Academy Training, and UKG.

Department listing: Killeen Police Department. Pay comparison: Texas police salary by department. That salary page still keeps Killeen out of the N=12 table because that collection is DFW municipal departments plus Texas DPS. City hiring guides in this series: Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Denton. Texas DPS hiring from Training Operations is How to Become a Texas State Trooper. Houston hiring from hpdcareer.com and NEOGOV 5328764 is How to Become a Police Officer in Houston. Lubbock hiring from Recruiting and the 2025-26 pay scale is How to Become a Police Officer in Lubbock. Amarillo hiring from Benefits/Salaries is How to Become a Police Officer in Amarillo. Brownsville hiring from the June 13, 2025 civil service notice is How to Become a Police Officer in Brownsville. McAllen hiring from the August 21, 2026 civil service notice is How to Become a Police Officer in McAllen. Waco hiring from the FY 2025-2026 Civil Service Police Salary Schedule and NEOGOV 5344313 is How to Become a Police Officer in Waco.

What Killeen PD actually is

Recruiting lives under Employment With Killeen Police Department. Recruiter: Officer Alfred Kinsey, (254) 200-7987, kpdrecruiting@killeentexas.gov. The Police hub names Chief of Police Pedro Lopez. Assistant Chief Jeff Donohue, Investigation Bureau. Assistant Chief Alex Gearhart, Operations Bureau. North Killeen Police Precinct: 402 North 2nd Street, (254) 501-8826.

The hub says the Killeen Police Department is a 344-member organization, with 270 members allotted sworn strength. City of 156,261 population, covering approximately 55.235 square miles. Allotted sworn is hub prose, not a roster integer. Directory sworn stays 0. Directory stations stays 0. Directory calls stays 0.

Academy Training is a TCOLE licensed law enforcement academy. Administrative offices: 3304 Community Boulevard, Killeen, TX 76542, (254) 200-7985. Academy and Tactical Firearms Range: south Killeen on FM195. The 2026 Training Calendar (PDF) brands KILLEEN POLICE 1882. Directory established is 1882 from that calendar mark.

The live apply door

There is no live Probationary Police Officer card on UKG this retrieval. Employment: apply online at City of Killeen Jobs, applications available only during hiring cycles. The Hiring Process PDF (filename dated revised 07082024) says Human Resources tests twice a year and administers a Civil Service Entrance Examination for Police Officers, and posts examination dates on the website, or you can inquire at Csdirector@killeentexas.gov. Recruiter email kpdrecruiting@killeentexas.gov for testing updates. Process may last from 2 to 6 months based on academy start dates and hiring schedules.

The pay-plan footnote still calls PPO a Non-Civil Service position. Those two lines sit together. No 2026 exam date is printed on Employment, city search, or UKG this retrieval.

The Killeen PD listing on this site says "No open posting recorded" and no dollar. That blank listing is not a live cadet door.

Watch Employment and killeentexas.gov/jobs for the next cycle. TCOLE Statewide Vacancies did not reprint Killeen PD this retrieval.

Minimum requirements

Minimum Requirements (PDF):

• United States citizen, able to competently read and write the English language
• High school graduate or GED
• Preference in hiring may be given to any TCOLE licensed officers
• Must not have had a TCOLE license denied by final order or revoked, or a voluntary surrender currently in effect
• Valid Texas Class C driver license; occupational license is not acceptable; less than 10 points accumulated in the previous two years
• At least twenty-one (21) years of age by the Basic Peace Officer Course start date
• Must be available to begin on the start date of the next scheduled Basic Peace Officer Course
• Residence within forty-five minutes driving time of the city limits within 60 days of hire
• Polygraph, physical examination, psychological test, and other job-content tests
• Pass the Killeen Police Department physical ability test

The Employment HTML reprints a shorter block: citizen, HS/GED, Texas Class C upon hiring, DD-214 if prior military. It does not reprint the age line. The PDF measuring point is the one this page uses. An older ingest of "21" without a measuring point is not the PDF line.

TCOLE's own floor is 21, or 18 with an associate's degree, 60 semester hours, or an honorable discharge after two years of active service (37 TAC 217.1(b)(1)(A)). The Minimum Requirements PDF measuring point, 21 by the Basic Peace Officer Course start date, is not the same as TCOLE's 18-with-waiver floor. Read TCOLE peace officer license requirements. Recruits reach the Texas Basic Peace Officer exam after the in-house academy, not at apply. TCOLE Basic is not required at apply. Non-certified officers exist on this plan: 18 months probation.

Must be a United States citizen on the Minimum Requirements PDF and Employment is Killeen PD's hiring rule. TCOLE also licenses a legal permanent resident who is an honorably discharged veteran with two years of service and has applied for citizenship (37 TAC 217.1(b)(17)).

A valid Texas Class C driver license on the Minimum Requirements PDF is Killeen PD's hiring rule, not a TCOLE minimum. TCOLE's floor is that you are not prohibited from operating a motor vehicle (37 TAC 217.1(b)(8)). Occupational license is not acceptable on Killeen's PDF.

The Minimum Requirements PDF and Employment HTML do not reprint a Class A / Class B table this retrieval. TCOLE makes a Class A conviction a lifetime bar and puts the ten-year lookback on Class B only (37 TAC 217.1(b)(4), (b)(6)). Family violence bars on community supervision as well as conviction (217.1(b)(7)). That TCOLE floor is the license gate even if the city pages name no Class A line.

The test, two printed PAT batteries

Written exam first. Hiring Process: candidates who pass the Civil Service Examination complete the physical readiness/fitness test the same day. Applicants who fail the assessment may retest not sooner than 48 hours later, redoing just those events failed. Only one retest.

The Hiring Process PDF then names these applicant events:

• 1-Mile Run, passing score 11:40 or less
• 500-Meter Row, passing score 2:27 or less for females, 2:08 or less for males

The Physical Readiness/Fitness Handbook names a six-event Physical Readiness Battery, same standard regardless of gender or age:

• Vertical jump 16 inches

• Agility run 19.6 seconds

• 300 meter run 67 seconds

• Maximum push-up 21

• 1.5 mile run 18:48

Those two batteries sit together. They are not averaged into one course. Not CPAT.

Then: Personal History Statement, background investigation, five-member Oral Interview Board, polygraph, conditional offer, medical, psychological.

Academy length

Employment: KPD has its own Police Academy for police officers, and it is not open to the general public to enroll in. Certified laterals may still be required to attend.

The 2026 Training Calendar prints BPOC 43 across January through June 2026 (from January 12). That is a class on a continuing-education calendar. It is not a published "academy is X weeks" hiring figure. Week count is unpublished as a hiring-page figure. Academy Training is also the in-service shop for licensed officers from other agencies. Keep that public course catalog separate from the paid recruit door.

See What to expect at a Texas police academy.

Laterals

Employment: experienced TCOLE certified police officers are eligible for a $15,000 sign on incentive, alternate pay plan, accelerated Field Training Program, and hiring preference. Certified officers may be required to attend the Killeen Police Academy. Contact the Recruiting Office.

Pay plan page 2, Hiring Incentive Pay, individuals with a TCOLE license and two years experience, three stages of $5,000:

• Stage one: $5,000 at six months of continuous full-time employment or police academy training component, whichever is later
• Stage two: $5,000 at 12 months or field training component, whichever is later
• Stage three: $5,000 when released from probationary status, provided all new employee training has been satisfactorily completed

No live lateral police requisition sat on UKG this retrieval. TCOLE Statewide Vacancies did not reprint Killeen PD.

Pay and benefits

Dated PPO Step 1, FY 26 plan effective October 1, 2025: $67,640.14 a year, $32.5193 an hour. Police Officer Step 1 $73,161.30 / $35.1737.

Police Incentive Pay, per pay period: Associate Degree $46.15; Bachelor Degree $92.31; Master's Degree $138.46; Intermediate Certificate $27.69; Advanced Certificate $34.62; Master Peace Officer $46.15. Officers may receive an education incentive in conjunction with Police Officer certification pay.

Police Assignment Pay, per pay period: Bilingual I $23.08; Bilingual II $34.62; Clothing $23.08; Field Training Officer $92.31; Investigator $23.08; HAZMAT $46.15; Permanent Shift Differential 3 percent of base pay; TRU (Tactical Response Unit) $34.62.

Sources, used 2026-08-22

• Police Officer Pay Plan (PDF) (FY 26 effective October 1, 2025; PPO Step 1 $67,640.14 / $32.5193; $15,000 lateral stages; PPO Non-Civil Service footnote; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Employment With Killeen Police Department (in-house academy not public; hiring cycles; $15,000 TCOLE laterals; Kinsey 254-200-7987; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Hiring Process PDF (revised 07082024; twice a year CS exam; 1-mile 11:40; 500-meter row; 2 to 6 months; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Minimum Requirements PDF (21 by BPOC start; HS/GED; TCOLE preference; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Physical Readiness/Fitness Handbook (six-event PRB standards; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Eligibility List PDF (blank table; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Academy Training (TCOLE licensed academy; 3304 Community Blvd; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• 2026 Training Calendar (BPOC 43 Jan-June 2026; 1882 brand; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Police hub (344-member / 270 allotted sworn; Chief Pedro Lopez; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• UKG 6138490 (18 jobs; no police officer card; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• TCOLE Statewide Vacancies (no Killeen PD card this retrieval; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Adopted 37 TAC §217.1, effective June 1, 2026 (TCOLE license floor; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Killeen Police Department listing on this site