By James Brown
Glasgow News 1
Kent Keen’s parents probably saw a different path for his career than the one he took. They were both teachers, but Kent wanted to be a police officer.
After 35 years in law enforcement, he is officially retiring Saturday as Barren County sheriff, an elected position he has held since being appointed in 2013.
“I’m just thankful I got to serve as sheriff for three terms,” Keen said after his retirement was revealed Oct. 23. “I’ve met a lot of encouraging people.”
Keen was appointed sheriff in 2013 by then judge-executive Davie Greer. At the time he was working as a school resource officer at Barren County High School. He had retired from the Glasgow Police Department prior to going to work in the sheriff’s office as an SRO.
The county was in need of a interim sheriff because the previous sheriff had resigned before the term ended.
“Davie called me one day about being sheriff, and I said, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ Wife (Ava) and I talked about it for a day or two,” Keen told Todd Steenbergen during a WCLU interview Wednesday. “I said, ‘OK, I’ll try it.’”
He said he didn’t aspire to be the sheriff for 13 years, or even one. He ended up running for the office in 2014, and won. He won two more terms after that.
Two Stops
When Keen told his parents he wanted to go into another vocation other than teacher, “… they tried to steer me in other directions.”
When it was clear that wasn’t going to work, his father directed him to Eastern Kentucky University.
“It still is one of the Top 5 law enforcement universities in the country,” Keen told WCLU.
He said after he graduated from EKU, he filled out applications nationwide. “Glasgow city police department was the first one to pick me up.”
Once there, he moved up in rank and when he retired he was assistant police chief.
Keen, who is from Scottsville, said he settled in during those 20 years, got married, had children, and built his family and career in Barren County.
That family is also why now is a good time to retire as sheriff.
“I’m excited about retirement, the time of year is beautiful,” he said. “Obviously we’ve got some holidays coming up, Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Keen is looking forward to spending that time with his grandchildren, and more time with his wife.
She is having surgery on her hand this week, which means he will have to be her right-hand-man for a while.
Becca Keen, daughter of Barren County Sheriff Kent Keen, reads a letter honoring her father. He is pictured back, left, along with his wife, Ava Keen. Katlan Thomerson/Glasgow News 1 file photo
Accomplishments
When Keen was appointed sheriff, the office had been through a tumultuous period.
At his press conference in August 2013, he said, “I have three guidelines that I operate off of, and that’s the KRS (Kentucky Revised Statues), the Barren County Sheriff’s Department policy manual, and the Bible, just to be honest with you. Some God-given common sense may go a long way, folks.”
Since then, Keen said he has focused on improving the overall professionalism of the office. He did so by sending detectives to training, upgrading equipment, and increasing patrols.
“For years there was only one man out after 2 a.m.,” Keen said. “I thought that was an unsafe practice.”
He said the call volume has increased countywide as the county population has grown over the past 30 years, and that has required an increase in patrol staff.
The office introduced body cameras in 2017, it has improved evidence collection practices, and has a tactical team that can “… high-risk warrants,” Keen said.
When Keen served as the school resource officer at Barren County high, he said he was the only SRO for county schools.
“Thankfully, we’ve been able to increase our SRO numbers and we’ve about got an SRO in each of elementary schools across the county,” he said.
The sheriff’s office has other duties beyond patrolling and responding to calls in the county. It’s also the tax collection agent for the county.
Keen said the computer systems have been upgraded to assist with that mission.
He said he is proud of the work they have done to modernize and improve the duties of the office.
Adam Bow, who won the Republican Primary for the Barren County Sheriff’s Office, speaks to Todd Steenbergen. James Brown/Glasgow News 1
Adam Bow will be sworn in as the next sheriff at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the Barren County Government Center in downtown Glasgow. Bow won the Republican primary in May, and is unopposed in Tuesday’s general election.
Bow has been with the sheriff’s office since 2011.
Keen’s last official day is Saturday, Oct. 31.
