Embattled Kansas Highway Patrol Superintendent Herman Jones to retire July 1

The embattled superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol will retire amid political controversy and legal trouble.

Highway patrol Col. Herman Jones will retire on July 1. The position is in Gov. Laura Kelly's cabinet.

Jones has been the target of multiple federal lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. More recently, Republican politicians have sought to move the highway patrol out from under Kelly, a Democrat, and put the agency under Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican.

Kelly announced Jones' retirement on Wednesday after years of standing behind him.

Jones told reporters after a legislative hearing on the KHP budget that Kelly didn't ask him to step aside. He also said the allegations, lawsuits and promises of legislative action had no role in his decision to retire.

"It was truly me," Jones said. "I decided it's time to move on for the good of myself, my family." He added: "I've got grandkids, it's time."

Kelly did not address the legal and political cloud hanging over Jones when she announced his retirement, which was done in the same news release as the announcement of Adjutant General David Weishaar's retirement.

"General Weishaar and Colonel Jones have together helped keep Kansans safe over the past several years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic," Kelly said in a statement. "Both have overseen immense operations throughout our entire state during challenging times, and I am grateful for their service and dedication. I wish them the best in their retirements."

More:Female Kansas Highway Patrol staff allege harassment, retaliation in latest lawsuit against agency

Jones has spent more than 45 years in law enforcement, most recently serving as the Shawnee County sheriff before Kelly appointed him as superintendent.

"It has been a sincere and distinct honor serving the citizens of Kansas as the Superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol," Jones said in a statement from the governor's office. "It has been my endeavor to keep Kansas highways and communities safe. Through the support of Governor Kelly and the collaboration of many dedicated employees of the Kansas Highway Patrol, we have strived to maintain the integrity of this agency."

Kelly did not announce a successor for Jones.

"Today I'm thankful the governor heard the voices of our Kansas Highway Patrol," said Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston. "For more than two years, the KHP has been mired in lawsuits, resignations, poor morale and so much more. With today's announcement, we can turn the page on the last four years and begin the process of finding new leadership that will return the KHP to an agency of honor and integrity."

More:Investigation clears KHP Superintendent Herman Jones; two employees let go

Herman Jones faced lawsuits alleging sexual harassment, retaliation

Kelly had previously defended retaining Jones amid a myriad of allegations, pointing to an internal investigation and an external one commissioned by the governor's administration.

"We conducted two independent investigations, and found that there was no substance to the allegations," Kelly told The Capital-Journal in December. "We didn't find any truth to be had in the allegations that were made."

Jones urged people to let the legal process work.

"Those are allegations. The truth comes through the court systems," he said.

A federal lawsuit filed in 2020 by numerous current and former female employees alleged a hostile environment, sex discrimination and leadership retaliations against male officers who attempted to stand up for the women.

Jones was personally implicated in the lawsuit, with one employee alleging he touched her shoulders and shook her before singing “shake it for me.” In a separate incident, the woman said Jones put his hand on her back and asked, “Does this make you feel uncomfortable?”

A separate lawsuit from two male leaders in the agency was settled last year, with Majs. Josh Kellerman and Scott Harrington restored to their positions and receiving over a year's worth of back pay after alleging they were fired as retaliation for helping women report their sexual harassment claims.

And another trooper who claimed he was fired as retaliation for supporting female troopers had his dismissal overturned by the Kansas State Civil Service Board in August after he was allegedly let go because of his conduct during a vehicle pursuit.

Jones retirement heads off organizational change

Jones' retirement heads off a move from Owens and Sen. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina, designed to oust Jones while taking control of the agency away from the governor.

Claeys and Owens announced an idea in December to put the agency under the newly elected attorney general, whom Claeys also works for. The attorney general already oversees the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

At the time, the legislators vowed to back off if Jones stepped down, which both lawmakers said they would do.

More:Who should control the Kansas Highway Patrol? Some lawmakers say Kris Kobach.

"I'm grateful that the governor chose to go this route," Claeys said. "I think it is important for Kansans to have a superintendent that they can trust and will do the job and I'm happy this is the outcome."

Claeys and Owens said they think the next KHP superintendent should be an outsider. Owens said promoting from within the agency could mean "carryover of poor leadership practices" while Claeys said an outsider would bring "a high probability this agency turns around quickly."

"Anybody that looks and reads and understands it will realize that it is a leadership issue," Owens said. "And with new leadership, you have the ability to recreate and rebuild, to change the culture that exists within an organization."

Jones said the next superintendent should continue the mission of protecting the safety of people and highways.

"Obviously, law enforcement of today is held accountable for their actions," he said. "And I think that's just the mission of what I think the next leader should take that into account, just doing the right thing."

When asked if he believes he has been held accountable, Jones responded: "I think so. I've tried to hold our people there, and I answer to that. I'm transparent for all that we do."

Politicians blamed Jones for challenges at KHP

KHP Capt. Mitch Clark told lawmakers on the Senate Transportation Committee earlier this year that the agency had 11% of its funded positions sitting vacant. The highway patrol and Kelly administration have maintained this is due to a general malaise in law enforcement hiring statewide.

"We have a mass exodus of people leaving the profession, not even waiting until retirement," Clark said at the time.

KHP data shows that the vacancy rate peaked under former Superintendent Mark Bruce in 2016 but declined in the following years, as well as at the beginning of Jones' tenure. It began increasing again in 2021 and 2022.

More:Ousted Highway Patrol leader gets potential boost in federal lawsuit from Kansas Supreme Court

Lawmakers, however, have argued that the size of incoming trooper classes have fallen behind the KHP's peers in other states.

The number of troopers graduating from the KHP training academy was consistently in the double digits between 2015 and 2019, according to testimony from Bryan Clark, president of the troopers' union, at a House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee meeting last month. The peak was 42 in the July 2017 graduating class.

But recruit class graduation numbers have been in the single digits since 2020, with five in the December 2022 class.

Bryan Clark also pointed to relatively lower pay for more experienced troopers compared to top officers at other large law enforcement agencies as a reason for low retention.

"We're not able to compete with those, and that's part of the retention (problem)," he said. "We can come before you and talk about recruitment, recruitment, recruitment. But you can't fill up a bucket if there's a hole in the bottom of it, and that's the problem we're facing is it's spilling out faster than we can put the water in."

But recruitment and retention troubles aren't unique to the KHP, as the Kansas Sheriffs Association, Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police and Kansas Peace Officers Association testified at the same meeting. Staffing problems also aren't unique to law enforcement, as the state struggles with a substantial workforce shortage across the economy.

"We are experiencing the same difficulties as our local law enforcement partners with recruitment and retention with the added challenge of no confidence in the current leadership," Bryan Clark said.

Kansas National Guard gets new leader in Brig. Gen. Michael Venerdi

Maj. Gen. Weishaar will retire April 1 as adjutant general of the Kansas National Guard. He is also the state's emergency management director and the governor's homeland security adviser.

Weishaar has served as adjutant general since April 2020, leading 7,000 soldiers and airmen at the Guard.

"Serving as the Adjutant General for the State of Kansas has been the highlight of my career," Weishaar said in a statement. "I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have served the citizens of Kansas and the thousands of soldiers, airmen, and civilians who make up the Adjutant General’s Department. Any success I’ve had over the past 42 years is because of the teams I’ve been privileged to be a part of. They made it fun to come to work, even on the days we had to deal with things that weren’t fun."

Replacing Weishaar is Brig. Gen. Michael Venerdi, who Kelly will appoint to lead the Guard. Venerdi currently holds a leadership position in the Guard after previously serving as commander of the 184th Wing at McConnell Air Force Base.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Highway Patrol's Herman Jones to retire amid controversy