The state’s governor slammed the slideshow and told CBS news in a statement that “This is absolutely unacceptable.”
Kentucky’s police commissioner has resigned after high school reporters discovered the department quoted Adolf Hitler multiple times in a training slideshow that also advocated for using violence, authorities said. Rodney Brewer announced Monday that he will resign from his position effective Wednesday.
Brewer, who had been state police commissioner for 10 months after he was appointed in January by the state’s governor, has had several positions within the state police department in a career spanning over 33 years.
Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Burnett has been selected by Governor Andy Beshear to act as an acting police commissioner.
"As of today, the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet continues to work diligently to swiftly and thoroughly conduct an internal review of all training materials and will provide information as it becomes available," Morgan Hall, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, said in a statement to CBS News.
A student publication at duPont Manual High School in Louisville called “Manuel Red Eye” uncovered that the Kentucky Police Academy used a training slideshow as recently as 2013 that advocated for violence during altercations and instructed cadets to be "ruthless in their actions." In the report, the students found that the training slideshow called "The Warrior Mindset," "used quotes from historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, J.R.R Tolkien, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.'
A slide entitled "Violence of Action" included a quote from Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf." "The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence," the slide quoted.
The student journalists of “Manuel Red Eye” also reported that Hitler was the most quoted figure throughout the slideshow.
Beshear slammed the slideshow and told CBS News in a statement that “This is absolutely unacceptable.”
"It is further unacceptable that I just learned about this through social media,” he added. “We will collect all the facts and take immediate corrective action."
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