By SPA Staff
On January 2, 2023, newly elected 4th district constable, Doug Baker, was sworn in alongside 1st District Constable Danny Weddle, who won his re-election bid back in November 2022. Danny is the only constable in Pulaski County to be re-elected to the office; the other four will serve their first term beginning January 2023. We haven't seen any emerging information about the other three constables, but we assume they will be sworn in on January 7, 2023, at the public swearing-in event downtown at the Virginia.
The hotly debated new constable law passed last year prohibits newly elected constables from having police powers until they become certified police officers through the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT), a 20+ week course.
Outgoing Judge-Executive Steve Kelley, in a questionable move, swore Doug Baker in to fill a vacant 4th district constable position in late October 2022. Constable Gary Baldock was initially elected to that office for the 2019-2022 term but was arrested with Michael Wallace and subsequently convicted of a civil rights violation and plead guilty in federal court for the attempted murder of a federal agent.
After Baldock's arrest in March 2020, until October 2022, Judge Executive Kelley did not appoint anyone to that position, even after Baldock's death in August 2021. There was an argument that the position was not technically vacated after Baldock's arrest. Ok, we can go with that, mainly because we couldn't get a straight answer. However, after Baldock's death, there was no doubt that the office was vacant, and the law reads that the judge-executive shall fill the vacancy. So, the big question is, why did Steve Kelley wait so long to fill that office? We may never know the honest answer to that.
The bigger, much bigger, question is if Baker gets a pass on the new law—KRS 70.325. A few months ago, several people reached out to the lawmakers responsible for House Bill 239 to clarify the law's specific intent pertaining to the newly elected constables since every newcomer in Pulaski County had it in their minds that they were going in with police powers. According to members of LRC, newly elected constables in 2022 will have to be KLEC certified at the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT). It was our understanding that also meant those who tried to skate under the wire and were lucky enough to snag a vacancy that they were not originally elected to back in the 2018 election for the 2019-2022 term.
It is no surprise that the Kentucky Constable's Association (KCA) is not happy with the new law, even though more training can only improve how the office is perceived by the public and cut down on liability. Shortly after HB 293 was passed, the KCA filed a lawsuit that requested an injunction against the new law. Motions to dismiss were made by the Attorney General and LRC on August 9, 2022. We know the case against the Attorney General was eventually dismissed, and we believe the remaining issue was also dismissed sometime in November. The KCA also posted on social media guidance to all constables who had a vacancy in the office in which they were elected to ask their county judge-executive to appoint them to the position so they could claim some sort of grandfather status.
We can't say whether or not constables will retain their arrest powers if they were appointed but not elected to part of the 2019-2022 constable office, then won the 2022 election. It is clear that the law actually reads different than the hopeful interpretation of a very few (see below). What we do know is that it will be interesting to see the outcome as it has already been raised to the Attorney General's office for guidance. We also expect our fiscal court to exercise the power they have to make sure the offices of constable stay in check, as they should have in the previous years. Some of the things fiscal court can control are equipment, and blue lights and siren, and the sheriff can limit radio access if needed. KSP has already limited access to the LINK/NCIC data base to only certified officers. Fight as they may, good changes are being made to ensure adequate training to anyone with police powers.
KRS 70.325 reads like this (relevant bits to this post in bold):
70.325 Powers and duties of constable. (Effective January 1, 2023)
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, for any constable or deputy constable taking office after January 1, 2023, who was not a constable or deputy constable in the preceding four (4) year term of office, the powers and duties of the office of constable shall not include the general powers of a peace officer or police officer. The powers and duties of the office of constable shall include:
(a) The specific powers and duties enumerated in this chapter;
(b) The power to distrain for his or her fees or for that of other officers as provided in KRS 64.400;
(c) The power to take necessary steps to stop, prevent, or bring under control any dog found chasing or molesting wild elk or deer at any time as
provided in KRS 150.390;
(d) The power, in a county containing a city of the first class, to serve all forms of legal process in any child support action as provided in KRS
205.782;
(e) The power to sell property to satisfy a lien created by a taker-up of boats, rafts, platforms, or timber as provided in KRS 364.020;
(f) The power to serve a warrant to levy and seize upon the baggage and other personal property of a guest for unpaid services to the keeper of a hotel, inn, boarding house, or house of private entertainment as provided in KRS 376.350;
(g) The power to enforce a lien for the care of livestock as provided in KRS 376.410;
(h) The power to execute a warrant in actions regarding forcible entry or detainers as provided in KRS 383.210 and 383.245;
(i) The power to serve subpoenas issued by the Parole Board as provided in KRS 439.390; and
(j) The power to take up vagrants, kill mad dogs, kill and bury a distempered horse, ass, or mule, kill and bury cattle, and alter a stud, jackass, or bull as provided in KRS 64.190.
(2) After January 1, 2023, no constable who is elected for the first time or a deputy constable appointed pursuant to KRS 70.320 shall be granted the powers generally applicable to peace officers and police officers unless the individual has been certified and maintains his or her certification pursuant to KRS 15.380.
Effective:January 1, 2023
History: Created 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 90, sec. 1, effective January 1, 2023
Community-led Editorial