High School Paper Outs Secret of State Police

Kentucky police used Hitler quotes in training new officers
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 31, 2020 1:30 PM CDT
High School Paper Outs Secret of State Police
An undated file picture shows the leader of the National Socialists Adolf Hitler, gesturing during a speech.   (dpa via AP, file)

A high school newspaper in Kentucky reports that state police have relied on quotes from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf in training new officers, per the Daily Beast. According to the Manual RedEye—the student paper at duPont Manual High School in Louisville—Kentucky State Police have used a training slide with the Hitler quote, "The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence." Another read simply "Über Alles," a phrase widely associated with Nazi Germany. The slides also urged officers to become "ruthless killer[s]," to "meet violence with greater violence," and develop "a mindset void of emotion." One slide links to a page on Goodreads devoted to Hitler. But a KSP spokesman didn't apologize for the references.

"The quotes are used for their content and relevance to the topic addressed in the presentation," said KSP rep Lieutenant Joshua Lawson. "The presentation touches on several aspects of service, selflessness, and moral guidance. All of these topics go to the fundamentals of law enforcement such as treating everyone equally, service to the public, and being guided by the law." Response at the political level, however, has been scathing, with Gov. Andy Beshear calling it "absolutely unacceptable" and Rep. John Yarmuth saying that "as a Kentuckian, I am angry and embarrassed. And as a Jewish American, I am genuinely disturbed." A state official said the slides—which were acquired by a local lawyer in a lawsuit and shared with the student paper—haven't been used in KSP training since 2013. (More police stories.)

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