{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-16.140","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 16.140","heading":"Discipline and removal of officers -- Grounds and procedure -- Removal of","body":"civilian employees -- Probationary period.\n(1) With the exceptions specified in this section, KRS 16.150, 16.160, and 16.196 to\n16.199, no officer of the department shall be remo ved, suspended, reduced in grade\nor pay for any reason except inefficiency, misconduct, insubordination, or violation\nof law or of any administrative regulation promulgated by the commissioner. Any\nperson may prefer charges in writing against any officer or individual employed as a\nTrooper R Class, which shall be filed in the Office of Internal Affairs, which shall\nbe designated by the commissioner as the recipient of charges and shall be\nadministratively responsible for the maintenance of good order within  the\ndepartment through the collection and investigation of charges and the retention of\ntheir dispositions. The charges shall be signed by the person making the same, and\nshall set out with clarity and distinction each and every charge. The commissioner,\nwhenever probable cause appears, shall prefer charges against any officer whom he\nbelieves to have been guilty of conduct justifying his removal or punishment, in the\ninterest of public order. Within five (5) days after the filing of charges, the Office of\nInternal Affairs shall deliver a copy thereof, personally, by certified mail, return\nreceipt requested to the officer offending. Within five (5) days after the receipt\nthereof, the officer may demand public hearing, or may admit the truth of the\ncharges in whole or in part. If the officer admits the truthfulness of the charges, the\ncommissioner shall remove, suspend, reduce in rank or pay the officer so offending,\nin proportion to the seriousness of the charges.\n(2) If the charges are denied and the office r demands a hearing within the time above\nspecified, he shall make his demand known to the commissioner in writing. After\ndemand for hearing has been made, the commissioner within twenty (20) days from\nthe date thereof shall arrange for a public hearing be fore a trial board to be\nconstituted in the manner provided in this section. The officer defendant shall be\ngiven not less than twenty (20) days' notice of the time, place, and hour of the\nhearing.\n(3) Upon the hearing, all charges shall be considered trav ersed and put in issue, and the\ntrial shall be confined and limited to the issues presented by the written charges.\nThe trial board hearing the charges may summon and compel the attendance of\nwitnesses at all hearings or sittings, by subpoena issued by the  commissioner and\nserved upon any witness by any sheriff or other person authorized by law to serve\nprocess. If any person fails to comply with any lawful order of the department or\nwith process, or if any witness refuses to testify concerning any matter i n which he\nmay lawfully be interrogated, any Circuit Judge, upon application of the trial board,\nor the commissioner, may compel obedience by proceedings for contempt as in the\ncase of disobedience of a subpoena issued from the Circuit Court or a refusal t o\ntestify in that court.\n(4) The officer defendant shall have the right to subpoena in his behalf any witnesses he\nmay desire, upon furnishing their names to the trial board or to the commissioner.\nThe officer shall likewise have the right to appear in person and by counsel.\n(5) All charges against the officer defendant, together with all proceedings before the\ntrial board, shall be transcribed and reduced to writing and a permanent record kept\nthereof.\n(6) In any instance where the commissioner has probabl e cause to believe that an\nofficer has been guilty of conduct justifying his removal or punishment, he may\nimmediately suspend the officer from duty, or from both pay and duty, pending trial,\nand the officer shall not be again placed on duty or allowed pay  thereafter until a\ndetermination of the charges under this section.\n(7) The trial board, after hearing the charges, shall fix the punishment of any officer\nfound guilty of any one (1) or more charges, by reprimand or suspension for any\nlength of time not to exceed six (6) months, or by reducing the grade if the officer's\nclassification warrants same, or by combining any two (2) or more of the\npunishments, or by reducing the monthly salary of the officer by not more than\ntwenty percent (20%) for not more th an six (6) months, or by removing or\ndismissing from the service of the department any officer so found guilty.\n(8) For the purpose of hearing charges against any officer, as set forth in this section,\nthere is created a trial board, which shall consist of  the commissioner and of a panel\nof ten (10) officers of the department appointed by the commissioner. The\ncommissioner shall designate from the panel not less than three (3) nor more than\nseven (7) members thereof to hear charges against any officer in th e manner and\nunder the procedure above set forth. The commissioner may promulgate reasonable\nadministrative regulations governing the procedure before the trial board, which do\nnot conflict with this section. The panel or trial board shall be a continuing body,\nand the officers designated shall serve thereon in addition to their other duties and\nwithout any increase in compensation, except they may be reimbursed for meals,\nlodging, and traveling expenses incurred while in the performance of their official\nduties as members of the board. Any officer defendant may for cause challenge the\nright of any member of the board in the trial of any action against him, and if the\nremaining members of the board find that the challenge is justifiable, the member of\nthe bo ard shall be excused from hearing the charges, and another member\nsubstituted in lieu thereof.\n(9) No officer is entitled to a hearing as provided in this section, unless his suspension\nis for more than twenty (20) days, or his pay reduced more than ten pe rcent (10%);\nbut if the officer receives more than twenty (20) days' suspension or reduction in\nsalary of more than ten percent (10%) within a period of one (1) year, he shall have\nthe right to such hearing in the manner above provided.\n(10) Any civilian employee may be discharged, suspended, or reduced in pay at any time\nby the commissioner, pursuant to KRS Chapter 18A.\n(11) Any officer appointed to the department shall be considered on probation for a\nperiod of one (1) year from and after the date of his appointment, and during that\nperiod may be discharged or suspended or reduced in rank or pay, with or without\ncause, by the commissioner. The rights conferred upon an officer for a hearing, as\nprovided in this section, shall not accrue until the officer ha s been employed by the\ndepartment for a period of one (1) year or more.","path":["KRS Chapter 16"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=1105","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:36Z","sha256":"72678f8f530d25ee2d3258793e4924042da6bf49809c2f319bab5833796ff8db","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-16.132","next":"us-ky/krs-16.150"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}