Bullitt County KY constable charged with drug trafficking www.privateofficer.com
Bullitt County KY Dec 17 2012 Sheriff’s officials said Saturday they are still conducting an investigation following the arrest of a Bullitt County constable on charges of drug trafficking.
Constable Clifton Hudson, 43, was arrested Friday evening after undercover sheriff’s officers purchased prescription pain pills from Hudson, according to Chief Deputy John Cottrell.
After obtaining a search warrant to check his home, Cottrell said officers found additional narcotic pills and marijuana. Hudson was arrested and lodged in the Bullitt County Jail on charges of trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hudson, of Mount Washington, was elected as a constable in 2010.
Constables are elected officers required by the Kentucky Constitution but are not given specific duties. They have peace officer powers, including the right to arrest. Constables aren’t required to have training or certification, as police and sheriff’s deputies are.
There were 509 constables serving in 2011, according to state officials.
The office most recently came under public scrutiny when Jefferson County Constable David Whitlock was convicted of shooting a suspected shoplifter in a Walmart parking lot in November 2011. In his Alford plea, where he did not admit guilt but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him, Whitlock agreed to resign from his constable’s position.
In November, Kentucky’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet released a report that found that Kentucky’s elected constables are an antiquated and irrelevant arm of law enforcement who are poorly trained and unregulated.
source-courier-journal.com
