{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-16.192","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 16.192","heading":"Removal, suspension, or reduction of grade or pay for positions created","body":"under KRS 16.187.\n(1) With the exceptions specified in this section and KRS 16.193, no officer\ncommissioned under KRS 16.186 to 16.195 shall be removed, suspended, or\nreduced in gr ade or pay for any reason except inefficiency, misconduct,\ninsubordination, or violation of law or of any administrative regulation promulgated\nby the commissioner. Any person may present charges in writing against any\nofficer, which shall be filed with th e Office of Internal Affairs, which shall be\ndesignated 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 an d the retention of\ntheir dispositions. The charges shall be signed by the person filing the charges, and\nshall set out with clarity and distinction each and every charge. The commissioner,\nwhenever probable cause appears, shall present charges against any officer whom\nhe believes to have been guilty of conduct justifying his removal or punishment, in\nthe interest of public order. Within five (5) days after the filing of charges, the\nOffice of Internal Affairs shall deliver a copy thereof, personally, by cer tified mail,\nreturn receipt requested, to the officer offending. Within five (5) days after the\nreceipt thereof, the officer may demand a public hearing, or may admit the truth of\nthe charges in whole or in part. If the officer admits the truthfulness of t he charges,\nthe commissioner shall remove, suspend, or reduce in rank or pay the officer so\noffending, in proportion to the seriousness of the charges.\n(2) If the charges are denied and the officer demands a hearing within the time specified\nby subsection (1) of this section, he shall make his demand known to the\ncommissioner in writing. After a demand for hearing has been made by the officer,\nthe commissioner, within twenty (20) days from the date thereof, shall arrange for a\npublic hearing before a trial board to be constituted in the manner provided in this\nsection. The officer defendant shall be given not less than twenty (20) days notice of\nthe time, place, and hour of the hearing.\n(3) Upon the hearing, all charges shall be considered traversed 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 in 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 to\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 probable cause to belie ve 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 unti l 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 than six (6) month s, 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 commissione r and a panel of\nten (10) officers of the department appointed by the commissioner which shall be\ncomposed of six (6) commercial vehicle enforcement officers, two (2) facilities\nsecurity officers, one (1) arson investigator officer, and one (1) hazardous d evices\ninvestigator officer. The commissioner shall designate from the panel seven (7)\nmembers consisting of four (4) commercial vehicle enforcement officers, one (1)\nfacilities security officer, one (1) arson investigator officer, and one (1) hazardous\ndevices investigator officer, to hear charges against any officer in the manner and\nunder the procedures established by this section. The commissioner may promulgate\nreasonable administrative regulations governing the procedure before the trial board\nthat do not conflict with this section. The panel or trial board shall be a continuing\nbody and the officers designated shall serve on the board or panel in addition to\ntheir other duties without any increase in compensation, except they may be\nreimbursed for mea ls, lodging, and traveling expenses incurred while in the\nperformance of their official duties as members of the board or panel. Any officer\ndefendant may for cause challenge the right of any member of the board in the trial\nof any action against him, and if the remaining members of the board find that the\nchallenge is justifiable, the member of the board shall be excused from hearing the\ncharges, and another member substituted from the panel.\n(9) No officer is entitled to a hearing as provided in this section unless his suspension is\nfor more than twenty (20) days, or his pay reduced more than ten percent (10%),\nexcept that if the officer receives more than twenty (20) days suspension or\nreduction in salary of more than ten percent (10%) within a period of one (1) year,\nhe shall have the right to a hearing as provided by this section.\n(10) Any officer appointed to the department under this section shall be considered on\nprobation for a period of one (1) year from and after the date of his appointment,\nand during that period may be discharged or suspended or reduced in rank or pay,\nwith or without cause, by the commissioner. The rights conferred upon an officer\nfor a hearing, as provided in this section, shall not accrue until the officer has been\nemployed by the department 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=1121","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:36Z","sha256":"e7ac52254a884ece39c9623e58fb204207aa565da7e51ea78d7be4db4c2e4bd7","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-16.191","next":"us-ky/krs-16.193"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}