Group of constables sue Kentucky lawmakers over new law requiring constable training
The Kentucky Constable Association is suing the Kentucky Legislature after state lawmakers passed a bill that the constables worry will diminish their powers.
The association has taken issue with House Bill 239, a bill passed by lawmakers this year which strips constables from exercising general police powers unless certified through peace officer professional training. The law only applies to constables who have been elected for the first time after January 2023. Current constables are grandfathered in without training.
The lawsuit was filed in Bullitt County by Larry Watkins, the vice-chair of the constable association and a constable in Bullitt County. The lawsuit to requests an injunction against the new law.
Alongside Watkins, five other members of the constable association have joined the suit, including active treasurer Jerry Edwards. Four other members in the suit were elected in their primary election with no opposition, and will become constables in January 2023.
‘Voters unhappy’ about new law, one constable says
Watkins said in a press release that the new law prevents constables from serving the citizens who elected them.
“We are the peace officers you see when you pick up your kids at school, attend church on Sunday, or drive in funeral processions. We are here to assist the police and sheriffs in public protection, but this law ties our hands,” Watkins said in the news release. “My voters are very unhappy about that, so the Association and I are stepping up to challenge it.”
Anna Whites, attorney for the constable association, said the new law requires training for all newly elected constables, but only gives opportunities for four elected officials to be trained at one time. The training takes three months to complete, and costs $15,000 out of pocket for the trainee.
“Four new guys have guaranteed seats, but out of 100 new constables elected, four of those can be trained and exercise powers,” Whites said. “The peace officer is required to pay for their training themselves, and all constables have day jobs, so they would have to take three months off and pay $15,000 for the training.”
She stated the law was “clearly designed to say only people who are unemployed and wealthy can even run to be a constable.”
“This was a law created to effectively destroy the office of constable, and make it irrelevant,” she said.
Constables were first made constitutional officers under Article VI, Section 5, of the 1850 Constitution.
The Kentucky Constitution Section 99 declares that constables “shall be elected in each county” and “shall enter upon the duties of their offices on the first Monday in January after their election.”
The constitution further states that “Constables shall possess the same qualifications as sheriffs and shall only be removed from office upon indictment, prosecution, and final appeal.”
Constables and deputy constables are peace officers, serving legal papers, escorting funerals, guiding traffic for schools and churches and county/city events, and assisting police, sheriff, marshals and other peace officers across the commonwealth at crime scenes and otherwise as needed, according to the lawsuit.
None of those duties can be performed by an individual who is not a peace officer, the constables said in the lawsuit. If the constables are not peace officers, they are private citizens without any of the service and protection duties detailed above.
‘We want training to be available’
“If you look at other elected positions such as jailers and coroners, they act like peace officers and they are not required to take this training,” Whites said. “These training courses are very physical and very intensive. Many people who are constables are older, retired, and could not be physically able to take this test.
“So no one disabled – and many constables are military veterans – could do this test, even if they were elected to the seat,” Whites said. “(HB239) has a good purpose, and we want training to be available if people want or need it, but the way the law is written makes it impossible to those who are elected and how the people are to think they will serve.”
She added the law will have a disproportionate negative impact on rural communities which rely more heavily on constables.
“In rural areas – and all plaintiffs are from rural areas – they direct traffic, they have K9 units or are supplemental to the sheriff’s office, state police, or the police department who have very limited staff especially in rural areas,” she said. “They do peace officer stuff everyday.”
Lawmaker: Training ‘important for the safety of our communities’
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger), who was not immediately available for comment to the Herald-Leader on Thursday.
Koenig said he sponsored the bill because constables needed more training to exercise police powers, according to WKU Public Radio.
“It’s important for the safety of our communities and trained law enforcement officers that anyone with a badge and a gun who can take you into custody, initiate a pursuit, or even use deadly force is someone who is instructed on how and when to use these tactics,” Koenig said to WKU Public Radio.
Whites said the lawsuit was given to Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office. A representative from Cameron’s office was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
Whites said she believes the Legislature will fight the lawsuit and defend that it is constitutional.
