Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced Friday that Colonel Phillip Burnett Jr. was sworn in as the next commissioner of Kentucky State Police.
Commissioner Burnett has been serving at the interim commissioner since November, during which he worked to strengthen the agency’s essential workforce, improve public safety and maintain critical services while also working to expand minority recruitment. Commissioner Burnett is a 25-year veteran of KSP and has served in numerous assignments including investigative operations, collision reconstructionist, field training officer, firearms instructor, post commander, operations east troop major, and administration division lieutenant colonel.
Since serving with KSP, he has received multiple awards including Post Trooper of the Year, the Citation for Bravery, the Commissioner’s Award and back-to-back Governor’s Awards for Impaired Driving Enforcement.
Commissioner Burnett says, “Every day the men and women in our agency work tirelessly to provide public safety for Kentuckians, and they deserve nothing less than my absolute best as we continue to be one of the national leaders in law enforcement. As your commissioner, I am committed to protecting the integrity of all investigations, interactions with the public and our state officials as we conduct law enforcement in the right way.”