LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A presentation once used to train Kentucky State Police (KSP) cadets quotes Adolf Hitler, uncovered student journalists from duPont Manual High School. The story, which you can now find on various national news outlets, was first reported by the high school's news outlet Manual RedEye.


What You Need To Know

  • Louisville student journalists uncover former KSP training materials

  • Training material quotes Adolf Hitler, urges cadets to be "ruthless killers"

  • State leaders weigh in, Beshear calls the materials "unacceptable"

  • Other leaders condemn the materials

Siblings Cooper and Satchel Walton said their dad, who is a lawyer, was working on a case about a police shooting in eastern Kentucky. For discovery in the case, one of their father's partners received records from KSP pertaining to material used to train the detective involved in the case. 

"I feel like this information needed to be out there as fast as possible with an article specifically about that egregious presentation, so we decided to write an article just about that," Satchel said.

The story picked up steam nearly immediately. Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. John Yarmuth, and Attorney General Daniel Cameron were quick to weigh in.

“We are just glad people are seeing it because I feel like it is an important thing that people need to see,” Cooper said.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky released a statement, applauding the students for first reporting the story. It's since been picked up by outlets like the New York Times, USA Today, and Forbes. The students credit the journalism program at duPont Manual High School for fostering the tools necessary to report a story of this magnitude.

“I take it as a bit of a compliment that, even though we didn’t necessarily get the story out of the virtue of being amazing reporters, we did thorough enough reporting on it that even when it is in USA Today, and the New York Times, and some British outlets, nobody is really adding anything else to the story on top of what we did," Satchel said.

The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Communications Director Morgan Hall responded to Spectrum News 1's request for comment, saying this presentation is no longer part of any training material and that it was removed in 2013. 

"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," Hall said.

Beshear also weighed in. In a statement to Spectrum News 1, the governor said, "This is absolutely unacceptable. It is further unacceptable that I just learned about this through social media. We will collect all the facts and take immediate corrective action."

Attorney General Daniel Cameron also offered comment. In a statement to Spectrum News 1, Cameron said, "Why anyone would feel it's appropriate to quote Adolf Hitler is beyond me. I don't think it is representative of the men and women who serve in the thin gray line." 

Yarmuth tweeted out his thoughts on the matter. The tweet reads, "I am angry. As a Kentuckian, I am angry and embarrassed. And as a Jewish American, I am genuinely disturbed that there are people like this who not only walk among us, but who have been entrusted to keep us safe. There needs to be consequences."

The Louisville Jewish Community Relations Council also released a statement on the report, saying in part, "The Jewish Community of Louisville is shocked and outraged that quotations from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf were used in a Kentucky State Police presentation. Adolf Hitler is the worst mass murderer in modern times, responsible for murdering millions of innocent people and absolutely nothing of useful purpose can or should be inferred from anything he wrote or said."

The ACLU of Kentucky also urged KSP to conduct a review of training materials to make sure nothing like this is used ever again.

Spectrum News 1 put in an open records request to obtain the presentation. We have also reached out to KSP for comment, but have yet to hear back. We will update this story with any additional information if it becomes available.