A report that came out Thursday says that a former KY police trooper who is accused of beating a handcuffed man was turned down several times before he was hired in 2018.
Aaron Tucker had been turned down four times before by the Kentucky State Police for reasons like how he did in oral board interviews and bad references, according to documents filed in a lawsuit against the officer that was shown on WDRB-TV. He was hired after the state police changed the requirements to become a former KY police trooper because there weren’t enough people applying and there weren’t enough troopers.
Heston allegedly cursed and threatened the trooper and resisted arrest, according to a police report. According to the report, when Heston was brought to prison, he “tensed up” when he was carried out of the vehicle, tried to vomit on Tucker, and “used his head” to strike him. (Photo: https://fox56news.com/)
Timothy “Michael” Heston the former KY police filed a lawsuit saying that the state police agency lowered its standards for applicants in 2017 and let people who didn’t meet them become troopers.
Elliot Slosar, Heston’s lawyer, said, “It’s shocking when your own agency says no to hiring someone more than once because of all these red flags, and then someone at the top says, ‘We need more bodies,’ overturning all those earlier decisions.” “It’s crazy that people have to be held responsible for that.”
A Kentucky State Police spokesperson didn’t answer questions about Tucker’s hiring, but in a response filed earlier this week, Kentucky State Police lawyers said, in part, that Tucker was hired by former Chief Rick Sanders, who is no longer with the department.
Tucker’s lawyer did not answer a message asking for a comment. Sanders didn’t say anything because the lawsuit is still going on.
The lawsuit says that Tucker stopped Heston (former KY police), who is mixed race, as Heston (former KY police trooper) walked along Interstate 65 in Bowling Green in 2019.
A police report says that Heston cursed at and threatened the trooper and tried to avoid being arrested. The report says that when Heston (former KY police) was taken to jail, he “tensed up” when he got out of the police car, tried to spit on Tucker, and “used his head” to hit him.
“After the fight broke out, I was able to get back control of the above offender by putting him on the ground,” Tucker wrote.
WDRB News got a surveillance video of Tucker walking Heston to a jail door. At the door, Heston seems to stumble or weave, so the trooper punches him a few times, knees him, and then takes him to the ground.
The video was found by Heston’s lawyer when he got discovery materials from the jail in preparation for the trial. After Heston spent almost a year in jail, charges like making terroristic threats and resisting arrest were dropped.
The station said that Tucker was fired by the state police after an internal review of the case.
The lawsuit wants an unspecified amount of money in damages and a trial by a jury.
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