Eric Wacaster is the Deputy Director of Standards for CLEST.
Mr. Wacaster began his career in law enforcement with the Hot Springs Police Department in 2005. He served in several capacities including Patrol Officer, Detective, Special Operations Officer, Special Operations Sergeant, SWAT Officer, SWAT Commander, Training Coordinator, and Training Sergeant. Mr. Wacaster has over 3,000 hours of law enforcement training and has taught over 1,400 hours as a law enforcement instructor. He holds a Senior Law Enforcement Certificate and is a certified professional law enforcement instructor in multiple subject areas including ALERRT Active Shooter, Firearms and Tactics, Operational Planning, Use of Force, Constitutional Law, Search and Seizure, Less Lethal, Leadership, and Defensive Tactics. Mr. Wacaster retired from Hot Springs Police Department in 2020.
Mr. Wacaster began his legal career as a Deputy Prosecutor for the 18th Judicial District East in Garland County, where he prosecuted a variety of criminal offenses in Garland County District and Circuit Courts, before joining DPS as General Counsel for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety’s Division on Law Enforcement Standards and Training in 2023.
Jason Lawrence began serving as Deputy Director of Training for CLEST on November 13, 2023, when he joined the division from the Garland County Sheriff’s Office, where he served as Undersheriff.
Mr. Lawrence previously worked in the Victim Witness Assistance Unit of the 18th East Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and as Court Administrator for the District Court of Garland County. In 2015, he joined the Garland County Sheriff’s Office as Chief Deputy before being promoted to Undersheriff in 2017.
He is a certified law enforcement instructor in areas including Firearms Tactics, ALERRT Level 1, Crisis Intervention Training, Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, ALS Less than Lethal, and Vincent Parks Law. He holds a Senior Certificate in Law Enforcement, is the Assistant Coordinator for the Troop K Child Abduction Response Team (CART), and a former Task Force Officer for the Western Arkansas Fugitive Task Force (WATF).
Sue Albritton is the CLEST Commission Administrative Assistant and Assistant to the Director, where she has been employed since 1993. She is responsible for all Commission records keeping, compiling agenda items and correspondence. Ms. Albritton studied at the Southeastern Technical College in Georgia and Southern Arkansas University Tech.
Sue.Albritton@dps.arkansas.gov