Captain Khaliqa Wheatley is a 16-year law enforcement veteran currently serving as the Continuous Improvement Manager and Pathways Outreach coordinator at the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in Northwest Florida. Throughout her career, she has held a wide range of assignments, including patrol, major crimes investigations, vice and narcotics, the human trafficking unit, training, recruitment, and crisis negotiations. She currently commands the agency’s Crisis Negotiations Unit. 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, and is pursuing doctoral studies in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Liberty University. She also holds Yellow and Green Belt Lean Six Sigma certifications and has been accepted into the Doctor of Public Administration program at Valdosta State University.
Captain Wheatley is nationally recognized for her work in officer mental health and wellness. She helped develop and implement an agency-wide wellness program at the Walton County Sheriff’s Office that achieved an over 1,000% increase in employee assistance program usage and a returning client rate exceeding 70%. She serves as an adjunct instructor at Northwest Florida State College and is a subject matter expert for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, contributing to academy curricula in mental health, crisis intervention, human trafficking, and interview and interrogation techniques. She is also a certified instructor for Dynamic Police Training, CEO of KTW Collaboration, and a sought-after speaker for organizations including the Florida Sheriff’s Association, the Florida Association of Hostage Negotiators, the United States Air Force, and the United Way of the Emerald Coast.
Captain Wheatley first gained national television exposure in 2017 on A&E’s Live PD and later appeared as a guest co-host on Reelz’s On Patrol: Live. She is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, and the Child Abduction Response Team (CART), and serves on the board of the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center. Among her honors, she was named to the United Way Emerald Coast’s 40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders in 2021 and received Scarlett Magazine’s Law Enforcement Officer – Woman of the Year award in both 2022 and 2023. Outside of law enforcement, she is a dance instructor teaching contemporary, jazz, and ballet at a private competitive studio.
