Kentucky State Police: 'Junk' cars and outdated equipment are putting our troopers in danger

It's easy to spot drivers zipping down Kentucky highways well above the speed limit. But stopping them isn't as simple as you might think.

Troopers must push their cruisers up to 120 mph or beyond, often crossing grassy medians and fishtailing to catch up.

Experiencing this adrenaline-fueled bumpy ride, one thing becomes clear — you want to be in a car you trust.

And that's a "dire" problem for Kentucky State Police. They don't trust their aging cars.

As state agencies brace for spending cuts to cover an estimated $1 billion budget hole, police Commissioner Rick Sanders is asking for more money.

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His current operating budget is $227 million for July 2017 through June 2018. The agency is asking for an additional $17 million annually, said Lt. Col. Chad White.

Sanders is urging lawmakers to consider his agency's "dangerous" predicament: worn-out cars, a manpower shortage and relic rifles.

As a trooper recently rushed to help another trooper who had been stabbed, his cruiser's transmission fell onto the interstate with a thud. Desperate, he ditched the car — which had accumulated nearly 200,000 miles — and began to run until someone picked him up.

"He was trying to get to that trooper to help save his life," Sanders told lawmakers during a recent hearing before the state House Budget Review subcommittee on Justice, Public Safety and Judiciary.

State Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington, told Courier Journal the incident was "horrible, a colossal failure of our system in Frankfort."

"It's vital to equip law enforcement appropriately," he told Courier Journal.

The latest cadet class was assigned cruisers with an average of 140,000 miles — and some troopers' cars top 200,000, Sanders told the subcommittee.

"JUNK?" That's the word a mechanic wrote on the front windshield of one cruiser, sitting on a lot with the state police's well-worn fleet.

It wasn't an insult, it was a serious question. The gray Chevrolet Caprice had more than 144,000 miles of hard usage, not the same as gingerly driving around town at slow speeds. The mechanic was trying to send the cruiser to the junk heap. But that likely won't happen because of the money shortage, state police spokesman Lt. Michael Webb said.

State Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, said aging cruisers are dangerous.

"More troopers get injured or die from vehicle accidents than they do from shootings in the last few years," he said. "We have to get the [newer] cars ... or it's shameful."

In the lobby of state police headquarters in Frankfort, a display shows dozens of photos of troopers who died in the line of duty. Three of the four men killed during the past five years died during car crashes.

As Webb looked at each face, he said: "It really is dangerous to drive (worn-out cars) the way we have to drive."

The high-speed interstate pursuits aren't for the timid, but troopers do them regularly. Not just to crack down on speeding drivers who endanger others, but also to arrest felons and drug traffickers who sneak heroin and other poisons into the commonwealth.

And troopers also hurry to crashes and critical incidents, ranging from domestic disputes to stabbings, home break-ins and murders. That's because troopers in Kentucky also are the primary law enforcement agency across much of the state. And in other areas, like Jefferson County, they provide backup for local police if possible.

Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, said unsafe cruisers can cause wrecks, endangering troopers and residents and "should be considered an emergency."

Sanders is asking for 260 cars within 18 months and then about 180 annually to replenish the fleet.

Blanton, who retired from state police five years ago as a major who oversaw the budget, said the agency's "dire" monetary woes are the result of years of tight budgets. He said his cruiser had 200,000 miles.

Blanton and Nemes, who chairs the House Budget Review subcommittee on Justice, Public Safety and Judiciary, said they also are concerned about the state police's Vietnam-era rifles.

"Oftentimes the bad guys have more firepower than our troopers," Nemes said.

The agency has a specially trained SWAT team with newer weapons, but Webb said it can take up to two hours to assemble and dispatch SWAT members, so troopers remain the first line of defense.

"If there was an active shooter, God forbid, at a school, it's going to be a responding road officer who gets there first," Webb said.

Criminals often have newer, superior weapons that fire more rounds from longer distances with increased accuracy, Webb said. So the suspect may have a better gun and a better car.

"It can mean life and death for us or life and death for those we protect and serve," Webb said.

Sanders also said there aren't enough troopers.

As of mid-December, there were 848 sworn officers, including about 500 road troopers. The agency considers full staff to be 1,070. It currently has enough money to pay for 900, White told the lawmakers during the budget hearing.

Some troopers are patrolling two or three counties alone. Without backup.

"It's unsafe," the commissioner told lawmakers.

The manpower shortage also makes it harder to properly enforce the speed limit, resulting in more car crashes and fatalities statewide, Sanders said.

"I’m coming to Frankfort at 76 or 80 mph and people are passing me going 90 or 100," the commissioner told the budget committee. "It’s like a race track."

The agency also is requesting capital projects, including about $141 million to overhaul the 15-year-old radio system that connects troopers to one another and to dispatch. They can no longer find parts to replace faulty radios.

A trooper lost contact to needed backup earlier this year when his radio died while he chased a suspected felon through Henry County, Webb said.

The commissioner also listed other needs, including updated equipment for the state crime lab and increasing the salaries of dispatchers, lab scientists and commercial vehicle inspectors.

"I think the legislators and the governor's office are convinced we're in dire need," Sanders said. "It's just a matter of where they're gonna find the money."

Reporter Beth Warren: bwarren@courier-journal.com; 502-582-7164; Twitter @BethWarrenCJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/bethw.