Thursday, March 16, 2000
Speedway may hire off-duty troopers
Work in uniform unprecedented
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Speedway may be the first private business in Kentucky ever to employ off-duty but uniformed Kentucky State Police officers to handle traffic and security.
The Gallatin County speedway opens in June.
In an opinion issued Wednesday, the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission ruled it would be within the law for state police officers to use their uniforms and patrol cars while working a private security job at the track.
The state police command has not decided whether officers will be allowed to work for the speedway developer Jerry Carroll is building just off Interstate 71 near Warsaw.
State police officers have never worked a private security detail while wearing uniforms and driving state-issued patrol cars, said Lt. Col. John Lile, deputy commissioner of the Kentucky State Police.
“We're plowing new ground here,” Mr. Lile said. “We don't have a policy because it's never been done before.”
Mr. Lile said he asked for the opinion after several officers inquired about working off-duty for the speedway.
Track President Mark Simendinger said Wednesday the track has asked officers if they would be available to work security and traffic details at bigger races.
“Obviously we'll need help for bigger events,” Mr. Simendinger said. “Our operations people are working with the state police, but at this point we're not sure how it is going to work out.”
The ethics commission opinion, signed by Chairman Bertie Oldham Salyer, states that while it would not be illegal for state police to work for the track, “the commission has advised employees in previous advisory opinions not to use state equipment and supplies in their private business.”
The commission also cautioned about blurring the line between officers working for the track and their duties as state police personnel.
“A clear distinction should be made between the employee's official duty and his private employment,” the opinion states. “Furthermore, if the officer is called into duty while employed by the Kentucky Speedway, the officer should not receive compensation from Kentucky Speedway for performance of his official duty for the state.”
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