LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An attorney for the family of a man shot and killed by Kentucky State Police in 2018 said the content of old training materials that quote Adolph Hitler and Confederate General Robert E. Lee is shocking.
The Power Point presentation used in the training for KSP recruits is titled: "The Warrior Mindset." Authorities say those materials are no longer in use, and KSP confirms that the presentation was obtained through an open records request by attorneys as evidence in a lawsuit against a KSP detective who shot and killed Bradley J. Grant in Harlan County in 2018.
Attorney David Ward represents Grant's family and said Grant posed no threat in May 2018 when he was confronted by police as he held a shotgun. Ward said when troopers arrived, Grant "had a shotgun pointed at his own chin. It was never pointed at the trooper, and it never left his own chin. And when the troopers told him to drop the gun and he didn't, they shot and killed him."
Ward said he was shocked by the content of the training materials.Â
"I couldn't believe this kind of training was used — put aside the Hitler quotes — that were three separate quotes from Hitler," he said.
The lawsuit is against Trooper Drew Wilson and Detective Aaron Frederick. Ward said they need to be held accountable for their actions. He said the training materials are proof that the troopers were "taught a warrior mindset, which teaches the troopers to be "ready for combat or war."
One slide in the training talks about violence and includes the bullet points, "ruthless without anger" and "a mindset void of emotion." Other slides used quotes from Hitler and Lee.
Sara Klein Wagner, the CEO of the Jewish Community of Louisville wants answers.Â
"I would love to know how many people went through this training," she said. "How many of those officers are still in their positions out in the state? I think we need a deep dive look. Are there other training or materials that also have this type of offensive material?"
After learning about the documents, Gov. Andy Beshear released a statement last Friday. He spoke on it during his regular COVID-19 news conference Monday.
"There is no rationale or reason that this is ever OK," he said. "And while we believe that this was done that one time six years ago, we're not stopping there. We are checking all training materials going back in time and looking at the present."
The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet also responded, saying:
"It is unacceptable that this material was ever included in the training of law enforcement. Our administration does not condone the use of this material. The material is not currently a part of any training materials and was removed in 2013."
"What we want out of this lawsuit is to compensate Mr. Grant's estate and Mr. Grant's child for the harms that were caused to him and violation of his constitutional rights," Ward said.Â
It's not clear how many troopers were trained using the slideshow.
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