Rodney Brewer

Photo courtesy of Kentucky State Police

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The head of Kentucky State Police will step down as commissioner later this week.

Rodney Brewer's resignation takes effect Nov. 4, according to Public Affairs Commander Lt. Josh Lawson. The agency did not provide a reason for the move or answer whether Gov. Andy Beshear requested Brewer's resignation.

Brewer was appointed commissioner of KSP in 2020 by Beshear. It marked his second term leading the agency. He also served as commissioner under the administration of Beshear's father, Gov. Steve Beshear.

Lt. Col. Phillip Burnett, who oversees the department's operations division, will take over Brewer's post on an interim basis. 

This comes just days after a report from student journalists at Louisville's duPont Manual High School published a report in Manual RedEye revealing old training materials used by KSP included quotes from Adolf Hitler and advocated for "ruthless" violence.

Though authorities say the materials are no longer used by the agency, the report prompted outrage from Gov. Andy Beshear, who called the presentation "absolutely unacceptable."

Beshear on Monday called for training materials used by KSP to be checked.

"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." 

KSP is the second-largest police agency in the commonwealth, employing more than 900 officers. It is not clear how many officers may have been trained using the old materials.

This story may be updated.

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