When public alert may be issued -- Duties of requesting agency, department, and all law enforcement agencies in Kentucky
KRS 16.179
in effect16.179. When public alert may be issued -- Duties of requesting agency, department, and all law enforcement agencies in Kentucky
(1) No public alert using the Kentucky Blue Alert System shall be issued unless requested by a law enforcement agency and, upon consultation with that agency, the department determines:
(a) That a peace officer has been killed, seriously injured, or is missing in the line of duty;
(b) That public notification is the most appropriate method of locating the officer or identifying and locating a suspected offender who poses an imminent threat to the public or other law enforcement personnel;
(c) That there is sufficient information available relating to the officer's last known location and the physical description of any suspected offender or vehicle involved that could be broadcast to assist in locating the officer or suspected offender; and
(d) The geographic area in which the notification shall be made.
(2) The requesting agency shall provide the information required by administrative regulation to the Department of Kentucky State Police prior to activation of the Kentucky Blue Alert System.
(3) If it is determined by the department that public notification shall be initiated, the department shall notify the public and private agencies and organizations that will provide the notification and provide those agencies and organizations with the information that the department deems necessary.
(4) All law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth shall cooperate with the department in the provision and dissemination of information regarding any peace officer who has been killed, seriously injured, or is missing in the line of duty.
(5) No law enforcement agency, other than the department, shall activate the Kentucky Blue Alert System without the authority of the department.
Effective: July 12, 2012
History: Created 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 124, sec. 2, effective July 12, 2012. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/12/2012). 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 124, sec. 3, provides that the Act, which created this statute and KRS 16.177, shall be known as the "Trooper Jonathan K. Leonard Kentucky Blue Alert System Act."
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=40566Fetched: 10/20/2026