Retired Lexington cop alleges state agency fired him because of a brain injury
A former Lexington cop who was once shot in the face and later retired due to a traumatic brain injury has sued the state’s criminal justice training department, alleging it fired him because he’s disabled.
Aaron Kidd, a Lexington police officer until 2018, has been in a legal battle with the Department of Criminal Justice Training since March 2019 after he was fired from his position as a trainer.
Kidd is seeking financial damages and legal costs, according to the lawsuit. But he filed a motion Tuesday for summary judgment, asking the court to rule that the department violated the Kentucky Whistleblower Act by firing him after he asserted he was being discriminated against. In that motion, he has asked to be reinstated and awarded back pay. Several exhibits were filed in support of the motion, including a deposition from September this year.
As a cop, Kidd suffered multiple injuries, including a facial wound when a suspect shot him in 2003. Kidd fired back at the suspect who died. But it’s a brain injury he sustained in a Lexington police training accident in 2017 that’s central to his legal fight.
Kidd alleges he was fired from the Department of Criminal Justice Training, which provides training for the vast majority of Kentucky’s law enforcement officers, because of that disability. He also said the firing was retaliatory because he complained to the department that his Americans with Disabilities Act rights were being violated.
“Aaron is passionate about law enforcement training,” Kidd’s attorney, J. Robert Cowan, said when asked for comment. “It’s obvious to me that we need folks like him training our officers, not only to ensure that fewer of them end up with a duty-related injury or death but also to do everything possible to help improve the image of our law enforcement in general when it’s most needed.
“As I have come to learn throughout this case, he is as ‘pro police’ as they come, but, at the same time, he’s the first to openly criticize law enforcement when they cross the line.”
In a reply filed in court, the Department of Criminal Justice Training denied any wrongdoing and said it wasn’t liable to pay Kidd over these issues.
“Mr. Kidd was not retained before the conclusion of his probationary period and was relieved of his employment without cause,” Kelly Foreman, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. “He was not terminated due to disability, and any claims to the contrary are meritless.“
Foreman also said the Department of Criminal Justice Training is “committed to fostering a strong workforce in an environment that provides all staff the opportunity to cultivate their potential in service to the citizens of the commonwealth.”
Kidd retired from Lexington’s police force in 2018 after he suffered the traumatic brain injury, according to his lawsuit. The criminal justice training department offered him a job as a firearms instructor and held the position for him until he left the Lexington police.
In September 2018, Kidd reported to his new job, for which he was required to complete a pre-employment physical with a doctor chosen by the Department of Criminal Justice Training. The doctor didn’t see any issues that would keep Kidd from doing the job. Kidd was ruled “fit for duty,” according to the lawsuit.
State agency allegedly ‘concerned about ... image’
In his lawsuit, Kidd’s attorneys wrote that he had no issues doing his job and met or exceeded expectations. He never asked for any special accommodations related to his injuries. Kidd alleged in the lawsuit that everyone involved in his hiring knew about his injuries.
The Department of Criminal Justice Training wrote in its legal reply that it wasn’t sure if everyone involved in his hiring knew about his injuries.
Kidd said he was never asked to stop talking about his brain and shoulder injuries until February 2019. At that time, he was called to a meeting with human resources. He was told by human resources and supervisors he had to be evaluated by a doctor to determine whether or not he was fit to continue as a firearms instructor, according to his lawsuit.
The reason for the evaluation: His supervisors and others heard him “repeatedly complain of both physical and memory loss issues,” according to court records.
When Kidd asked a supervisor for clarification because he hadn’t been told not to discuss his injury, Training Operations Director Stephen Long said the criminal justice training agency was “concerned about the image” of the department, according to the lawsuit.
They “were concerned what might happen if a sheriff or the public learned that they have a firearms instructor” with a traumatic brain injury, Kidd’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
Supervisors assured Kidd they didn’t want to fire him, and the request for an evaluation was only to get documents on file, according to the lawsuit. Robert Ramsey, one of Kidd’s supervisors, told him he just needed to jump through all the “hoops” so he could get back to work, the lawsuit stated.
Kidd alleged in his lawsuit that Martha Spurniolo, a human resources employee, told Kidd he could “probably sue our asses off.”
“He didn’t want to go that route because all he really wanted was to keep his job,” Kidd’s lawsuit stated.
Kidd complained in late February that his disability rights were potentially being violated, according to court records. He was fired March 1, 2019, according to the lawsuit. His supervisors told him he was still in his six-month probationary period as a new hire and didn’t need to be given a reason, according to the lawsuit. Those remarks mirror what the department later told the Herald-Leader.
Kidd’s doctor indicated after he was fired that he was capable of performing his job in spite of his injuries, according to the lawsuit.
The Department of Criminal Justice Training said in court documents it couldn’t determine the accuracy of Kidd’s claims regarding several conversations he had with other department employees.
Memo: Kidd was ‘over the top’
Criminal justice training department materials — in which staffers indicated recruits had problems with Kidd — were included in court records.
Multiple recruits had concerns about Kidd’s mental well-being and even called him “psycho,” according to a memo written by Lee Ann Boyle and filed in court records. Boyle was an instructor at the Department of Criminal Justice Training.
According to the memo, a recruit said Kidd got in his face and asked, “I heard you could take me in a fight?” Kidd later told the recruit it was a joke, according to court records.
”Other recruits stated he was ‘over the top’ when he taught, but felt he had good intentions when instructing the class,” the memo read
Kidd also allegedly talked about shooting and killing someone while on duty, according to court records. Kidd had that experience on the Lexington job.
The shooting happened in February 2003, when Kidd responded to a burglary call. He found a suspect who had previously fled police. The suspect tried to hit Kidd and then shot at him, according to police records. A bullet hit Kidd in the nose and exited through his cheek, according to police records.
Police said at the time that the suspect, 24-year-old James Salyers, shot first. But Kidd was able to pull his gun and fire back at Salyers. Salyers died.
“He took appropriate action to defend himself,” said Anthany Beatty, the Lexington police chief at the time.
Kidd received a Purple Heart Award after the shooting, according to his personnel file, which was obtained by the Herald-Leader through an open records request. Kidd received several other awards as well, including multiple distinguished service awards and a life-saving award.
In his discrimination and whistleblower case, a Nov. 19 hearing has been scheduled for further action on Kidd’s request for summary judgment, as well as the department’s request to dismiss Kidd’s related claim that it violated the Open Records Act.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 12:56 PM.