Greenup opposes training constables

By MARY MUSIC
The Independent

GREENUP December 17, 2007 05:47 am

— The Greenup County Fiscal Court is opposing legislation that would give constables uniform law enforcement training and authority.
Greenup County Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter sent notice to the Kentucky Association of Counties informing officials the Greenup County Fiscal Court opposes a legislative change to the constable’s role in the Commonwealth.
County constables, one of only three elected law enforcement offices in the state, are not currently required to be trained. They work as fee-paid peace officers, and they get paid when they serve summons or court documents.
“We don’t need constables,” Carpenter said. “The constable office should have been done away with a long time ago.”
Greenup County has a couple of good constables, he said, but claims a couple of the county’s constables step over the line by packing weapons and pulling cars over. Greenup County constables have pulled over vehicles in other counties, Carpenter said.
“A big issue is liability,” he said. “If we’ve got them out here like that, pulling cars over and carrying a gun, and they’re not properly trained, we have to be responsible for the liability and we can’t afford it.”
Carpenter said the county also can’t afford to train the constables, as the bill, pre-filed by Sen. Dan Seum, R-Fairdale, would require.
BR 104, up for consideration when the Kentucky General Assembly meets on Jan. 8, would provide state law enforcement training to constables and deputy constables. Deputy constables will be required to have 40 hours of basic training and 40 hours of annual in-service training to become qualified as peace officers — much less than the hundreds of hours of training required for other police officers.
After a constable gains training qualifications, he or she can drive vehicles with sirens and lights, use police communication systems, make domestic violence arrests and perform other duties as peace officers, the bill states.
Seum said constables, under the legislation, could help pick up a current lag in unserved warrants throughout the state. Kentucky has more than 400,000 unserved warrants — 16 percent of those are felonies. In Greenup County, there are currently 3,000 unserved misdemeanor and felony warrants, officials said.
Seum said he is surprised sheriffs and other officials oppose and are even angry about the legislation. The proposed legislation has sparked a “turf battle” between sheriffs and constables, he said.
“There’s plenty of work to go around,” Seum said, talking about the increase of violent crime in Louisville and nationwide. “We’re just not locking up the bad guys anymore.”
Regarding Carpenter’s worries about footing the bill for constable training, Seum said the legislation doesn’t have any physical impact on county government.
“You’ve got a bargain in this guy because you don’t have to pay his salary,” he said. “You’re not talking about retirement on this guy or insurance on this guy. My God, he’s a freebie.”
Tim Sturgill, the general counsel for the KACo, said the organization’s affiliate associations — speaking on behalf of the state’s judges, sheriffs and magistrates — also oppose the bill.
The Kentucky Sheriff’s Association opposes the bill because sheriff departments have worked to develop a professional appearance and some constables detract from that, he said.
KACo’s legislative committee hasn’t taken the bill up for consideration yet, Sturgill said, but members generally vote according to the preferences of the organization’s affiliates.
The Kentucky Constable Association, supporting BR 104, reports that the word “Cop” comes from the phrase “Constables on Patrol.” The office was established in 1850 and it gave constables “broad powers of arrest” and the ability to serve court documents, the organization’s Web site reports. Constables can also enforce traffic and criminal laws, serve warrants and summons.
Constable Lenard Hall, the association’s regional director for Boyd, Carter, Greenup and Lawrence counties, is confused about the resistance to Seum’s bill.
“I don’t understand. It’s a constitutional office. The people elected us. I’m sure, if they didn’t want constables, they wouldn’t elect us,” he said. “It’s unfeasible to want to get rid of constables. We’re a fee-based service. I think all the counties should utilize constables and be for this bill. It will just help the citizens of the county. It’s an uphill battle. Hopefully, we may win.”
Hall said he’s “treated like a black sheep” in Greenup County and that there’s no liability issues with constables. State law requires constables to post a $10,000 bond.
“It’s a Catch-22,” he said. “We’re wanting trained. We’re not properly trained, but they’re against the bill that will get us trained.”
Hall is one of 496 constables in Kentucky who would be affected by BR 104. Like most constables, Hall, who pays out-of-pocket for travel expenses while working and taking classes, works part-time. He owns rental property in Floyd County, where he worked previously as a deputy sheriff and county detective.
Hall takes criminal justice classes and law enforcement classes offered by the Kentucky Constable Association.
He is a certified traffic radar operator, has earned combat pistol qualifications, and has combat night qualifications. He’s also had National Incident Management training through FEMA and taken classes to learn about domestic violence, alcohol and beverage control regulations, traffic stop regulations and school threat assessment.
Before gas prices increased, he patrolled his district while conducting security checks at businesses and churches. He also takes calls at home from people with complaints.
In Floyd County, Hall said constables had retirement benefits, insurance, gas expenses and a small monthly salary.
“I thought it was the same throughout the whole state,” he said, about running for the office in Greenup County. “We don’t get a uniform or anything here.”
MARY MUSIC can be reached at mmusic@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2657.