95.765 Removal or reduction in grade -- Grounds -- Procedure -- Suspension --
772 words·~4 min read·
/ky/95-765A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Punishment.
(a)No member of the police or fire departments shall be removed from the
department or reduced in grade upon any reason except inefficiency,
misconduct, insubordination or violation of law, or violation of the rules
adopted for the departments.
(b)Any person may file a complaint against a member of the fire department,
which shall be filed in the office of the mayor, who shall notify the legislative
body without delay. Any person may file a complaint against a member of the
police department under KRS 15.520.
(c)Any complaint shall be written, signed by the person making the allegations,
and shall set out with clearness and distinctness each and every allegation.
(d)Subject to the provisions of KRS 15.520, it shall be the duty of the mayor and
the legislative body, whenever probable cause appears, to prefer charges
against any member of the police or fire departments whom he or she believes
to have been guilty of any conduct justifying his or her removal or punishment
in the interest of public order.
(e)The charges filed shall be written and shall set out with distinctness and
clearness the charges made, and upon the hearing of any charges, as
hereinafter provided, all charges shall be considered traversed, and put in
issue, and the trial shall be confined to matters related to the issue so
presented.
(f)All charges against members of the police or fire departments shall be filed
with the clerk of the legislative body. Within ten
(10)days after filing, the
legislative body shall proceed to hear and examine the charges unless
otherwise agreed by the legislative body and the member charged; provided
five
(5)days before the hearing the member has been served with a copy of
the charges, and a statement of the day, place, and hour at which and when the
hearing of the charges shall begin.
(g)The member accused may waive service of the charges in writing, and
demand trial within ten
(10)days after the charges are filed with the clerk of
the legislative body.
(h)The legislative body shall have the power to summon and compel the
attendance of witnesses at all hearings or sittings by the body, upon subpoena
issued by the clerk of the body, and served upon the witnesses by any officer
authorized to serve subpoenas from any court of justice in the county. If any
witness fails to appear in response to a summons or refuses to testify
concerning any matter on which he or she may lawfully be interrogated, any
District Judge, on application of the commission, may compel obedience by
proceedings for contempt as in the case of disobedience of a subpoena issued
from the District Court.
(i)The member accused shall have the right to have subpoenaed, on his or her
behalf, any witness he or she may desire, upon furnishing their names to the
clerk of the body, and the action and decision of the body on the charges shall
be reduced to writing and shall be entered in a book to be kept for that purpose
by the clerk of the legislative body, and the written charges filed in this matter
shall be preserved and securely attached to the book containing the legislative
body's decisions.
(a)In cases where the mayor or chief has probable cause to believe that a member
of the police or fire department has been guilty of any conduct justifying
removal or punishment, he or she may suspend the member from duty, or
from both pay and duty, pending trial, and the member shall not be placed on
duty or allowed pay thereafter until the charges are heard by the legislative
body.
(b)The body shall fix punishment against a member of the police or fire
departments found guilty of any charge under KRS 95.761 to 95.784, by
reprimand in writing or suspension for any length of time in their judgment,
not to exceed six
(6)months, or by reducing the grade, if the accused be chief
or other officer, or by combining any two
(2)or more of the punishments, or
by removal or dismissal from the service of any such member of the police or
fire department.
(c)No member of the police or fire department except as provided in KRS 95.761
to 95.784 shall be reprimanded in writing, removed, suspended, or dismissed
from the department until written charges have been made, or preferred
against him, and a trial had as herein provided.
(3)This section shall only apply to a member of the police department when the
provisions of KRS 15.520 do not apply.