Thread by @jrclaeys

🧵Laura Kelly's Highway Patrol is in a shambles. It is easy for the #KSLeg to look at pay as the reason for low recruitment numbers, but the more likely and historically relevant reason is morale. Let's dive into this well-written article by Brad Cooper.👇 sunflowerstatejournal.com/khps-sworn-off…

Pay was hiked on July 1 by this Legislature. In fact, in conference, I nearly doubled the increase. Starting pay at the KHP is now $27.61/hr. The Wichita PD is $25.31. Yet, the KHP had one of its most pathetic class sizes ever. Wichita PD was 10x the size: ksn.com/news/wpd-train…

So it must be that global pandemic or defund the police movement that started this recruiting problem? KHP went from the largest class sizes in history to a handful in a matter of six months. Meanwhile in 2020 Wichita PD had their largest in history: kwch.com/2020/08/11/wpd…

What changed in mid 2019 that flipped the Kansas Highway Patrol from record-breaking class sizes to some of the lowest recruiting numbers in history? If it isn't money, it isn't defund the police, and it isn't the pandemic, what should we be looking at? wibw.com/2022/08/05/ks-…

These words from Brad Cooper's article could be easily turned into a graph that looks like a mountain. Start in the foothills Pre-Mark Bruce, Mark Bruce takes us to the peak, then post-Mark Bruce hits the ocean floor. Someone or something is responsible for that cliff.

The Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers certainly have some ideas about what is wrong that aren't being presented to committees in the Capitol. They went from endorsing Laura Kelly in 2018 to endorsing her opponent in 2022 over the current leadership scandals. cjonline.com/story/news/pol…

And scandals there are many. ksnt.com/news/top-stori…

From federal lawsuits to this little scheme. A wrongful termination suit from a Trooper when another Trooper was forced by KHP leadership to falsify a report or face termination himself. kmbc.com/article/kansas…

That false report resulted in a termination that was overturned by a court. The corruption here is egregious. The leadership of the KHP forced a Trooper to lie so they could fire a Trooper who supports women who were sexually harassed by KHP leadership. kwch.com/2022/08/17/kan…

And why wouldn't there be low morale in the Kansas Highway Patrol after Laura Kelly line-item vetoed raises for certain members of the patrol at the urging of the leadership of the KHP? What a bizarre and petty thing to do to your own people. Speaking of bizarre...

I'm just spitballing here while pasting a link to a KHP attempt to violate the First Amendment. It could be -- and just hear me out -- that the reason no one wants to work at the KHP is because of the leadership of the KHP? kansascity.com/news/politics-…

There was a time when the KHP broke records with recruiting. The record-breaking class size in this 2016 article was topped by the next. Large class sizes came to an abrupt end after the last class recruited under previous leadership graduated in 2019. kansaspublicradio.org/kpr-news/kansa…

Let's recap. We have evidence that other police forces are doing great with their recruiting at lower pay and in the same COVID and/or defund the police environment the KHP is recruiting in. Those excuses are trash. Just absolute garbage. Nonsense.

We also know that the KHP leadership is involved in more court cases than Clarence Thomas. We see their intimidation tactics on full display as they go after reporter notes and TV station B Roll. Whistleblowers abound -- as are cover ups.

There's a cost to all of this. It is measured in lives. Laura Kelly is playing a dangerous game with the lives of Kansans as she stands by while the state police force is decimated under her administration. The worst part is, we've been here before. kansascity.com/news/politics-…

Republicans in the House already dug us out of this hole once. The plan in 2015 when I took over Public Safety Budget reversed a dire situation at the patrol. Then, in 2019 60+ Troopers bailed year one of new leadership and the replacement rate is a handful every six months.

The force depletion that has occurred under Laura Kelly presents a serious risk to public safety in Kansas. Your family and mine are less safe. Our governor does not have a plan to improve public safety or to return the KHP to its previous trooper count. But I do.

When the Legislature convenes in January, I will propose a change to the structure of the Kansas Highway Patrol that will result in new leadership without the input of Laura Kelly. We will get back to a KHP that is capable of -- and focused on -- keeping Kansans safe.

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