KSP veteran retires

July 31--HENDERSON, Ky. -- From the time he was a little boy, there's one thing Union County resident Russell Roberts wanted to be -- a state trooper.

"I'm one of the fortunate ones," Sgt. Roberts said during a retirement luncheon Wednesday at Post 16 in Henderson. "To have a dream as a little kid to be a trooper ... I got to live that dream."

Roberts retired after 20 years of service to the state police -- all spent at Post 16 -- and after 27 years total in law enforcement. He served the first seven years with the Morganfield Police Department.

"The state police is a family ... but I think there comes a time when you realize that the time is right for you to go," he said. "I'm going to miss the people and some of the things about the job."

"There are trying times out there when you're not safe watching a movie or going to church and even for our military. I'm worried about our younger guys coming up," Roberts said. "When you're in a position of leadership, you should be preparing the younger guys to take over your seat. That's what I've tried to do. I had great mentors, and that's what I tried to be."

From the stories told by some of the "younger guys," Roberts succeeded.

KSP Capt. Sean McKinney said Roberts was a well-established trooper in Union County when he started his career.

"You always took care of us. You never made quick decisions, but thought everything through," he said. "You're going to be missed."

Trooper Shane Settle said he's been blessed to have had several good sergeants, "but Russell has to be the best I've had. Because I work the road with him, he was the veteran, and I went to him with all of my questions. When he promoted, he was exactly what he said he wanted to be. He didn't drink the Kool-Aid, but took care of his guys. He'd ream you out if you needed it. All the guys love you, and you're going to be missed."

Trooper Jared Beauchamp, another Union County resident and former Morganfield police officer, spoke of the first time he met Roberts, who was then an officer with Morganfield.

"As a kid, I was quite the hellion," Beauchamp said. "Me and my friends were throwing snowballs at the garbage trucks and at the garbage men ... Russell was the first police officer who found us. We got chewed out. But I grew up, and he helped me become the trooper I am today."

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