Khaliqa Wheatley — Instructor Profile

About Khaliqa Wheatley

Captain Khaliqa Wheatley is a 15-year law enforcement professional who is currently assigned to Emergency Services as the Continuous Improvement Manager for the Walton County Sheriff's Office, Florida. Captain Wheatley holds a bachelor's degree in criminology from the University of La Verne, a master's degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University, is an Industrial and Organizational Psychology Doctoral Student focusing her research on public safety workspaces, and maintains a yellow belt in Lean Six Sigma.

She is the Commander for the Crisis Negotiations Unit, a member of Child Abduction Response Team (CART), National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, Vice President for the Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center Board of Directors, United Way Emerald Coast's 40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders 2021, and most recently, Law Enforcement Officer - Woman Of The Year (2022 and 2023) for Scarlett Magazine. Captain Wheatley began her law enforcement career in Southern California and gained her experience from holding various assignments to include major crimes investigations, patrol/patrol supervision, human trafficking unit, honor guard, vice/narcotics investigations, and recruitment.

Most notably, Captain Wheatley, in partnership with a culturally competent certified first responder counselor, developed and implemented an agency-wide mental health and wellness program which garnered an improvement in use of over 1,000% since its inception in 2021 paving the way for normalizing help-seeking behaviors amongst the just under 700-member organization. Captain Wheatley has traveled throughout Florida speaking on the advocacy of overall public safety officer wellness, organizational change, and leadership practices. As an adjunct instructor for Northwest Florida State College teaching both basic recruits and experienced law enforcement professionals on a variety of topics, Captain Wheatley is known for her passionate delivery of material to instill the same excitement for law enforcement in new officers and reigniting that love for law enforcement in the veterans. During her time within continuous improvement, Captain Wheatley had researched, developed, and implemented a recruitment program for her organization citing an over 400% increase in law enforcement applicants.

She has been a guest speaker for regional Families First Network, Florida Sheriff’s Association, Circuit One Human Trafficking Task Force, United States Air Force on human trafficking. Captain Wheatley has been a highly sought after speaker for various organizations to include Florida Association of Hostage Negotiators, 2nd Alarm Project, The Next Big Thing, United Way of the Emerald Coast, and Walton Area Chamber of Commerce.