Franklin County Sheriff Chris Quire said Thursday that he has retained a retired FBI agent and supervisor to conduct an independent investigation of alleged police misconduct by Detective Jeff Farmer.
The investigation began Thursday, Quire said, with the main investigator already conducting interviews.
Quire’s announcement comes nearly a week after all five Franklin County public defenders penned a letter criticizing Farmer’s attendance at a pro-Trump rally preceding a mob's siege of the U.S. Capitol last week. They were also critical of his police record, claiming that Farmer was involved in cases that reflect “targeting and racial profiling.”
Members of the community group Focus on Race Relations held a meeting with Quire specifically about Farmer’s conduct as it relates to race and the use of force in late August.
On Sunday, Quire announced that he had reassigned Farmer pending a “thorough investigation” of the public defenders’ accusations. Quire added on Thursday that Farmer has been reassigned to "non-law enforcement" administrative duties, and that his pay remains the same as it was before the investigation.
Quire emphasized that his office's investigation is not criminal in nature.
Leading the investigation is Carl F. Christiansen, president of Advanced Investigative Solutions (AIS) Inc. Christiansen has around 25 years of experience with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as an agent and a supervisor. AIS’ brochure states that the company has “assisted hundreds of clients” since 2003.
In 2017, former University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino hired Christiansen to administer a polygraph test to him and interview individuals involved in the program's infamous stripper scandal.
"Deputy Farmer is not under a criminal investigation," Quire wrote in a news release Thursday. "But we have retained retired Agent Christiansen to provide an impartial, thorough, independent and transparent accounting of the facts surrounding the Public Defenders' allegations made against Deputy Farmer. My intentions as sheriff should be clear — to provide our community a law enforcement agency that is fair and equitable for all."
Quire said AIS was recommended to him by the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association.
“I asked for their advice and they said ‘here’s you somebody,’” Quire said. “I've never met the guy, but I saw his resume and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s who I want.’”
Quire asked for citizens to contact his office with their concerns.
"As this investigation proceeds, we urge any members of the public who may have complaints or allegations regarding interaction with Deputy Farmer, who have concerns about alleged social media posts, or who may have relevant information to come forward," Quire wrote.
Quire's office can be contacted by email at FCSOComplaints@franklincountyky.com or by phone at 502-875-8740.
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How about letting the actual FBI do the investigation? That is what they do. Nothing against this guy that the Sheriff hired, but it is the same guy that Rick Pitino hired to get him out of trouble with the NCAA. Is this guy an investigator searching for the truth or a "fixer"? What evidence is he going to find in this "non-criminal investigation" that Farmer hasn't already admitted/bragged about, like that that he "made it to the steps".
Just being on these steps during a riot is a violation of the 18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection. Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Of course, Farmer is craw fishing back out of that statement nowadays, but you can’t unsay it or unsee it.
If this isn't a criminal matter, even though on the face it sure looks like it could/should be, the civilian investigator has no authority to do any real investigation, regardless of who he used to work for. He has no authority to conduct even the most basic investigation. Like, it obviously is essential to pin down what Farmer was doing and who he was communicating with, before, during and after the six hour long riot that he was "attending". There are two ways to do that, but only one way that is feasible for this investigator, and he doesn't have the authority to do it.
Logic dictates that they take a good long look at Farmer’s smart phone, including his social media/text and email communications. His smart phone will reveal exactly where he was and when he was there. The "e" in email stands for evidence. Does anyone think that Farmer or his attorneys are going to allow that without a warrant? His attorneys will not even allow him to speak to the media's questions about it, and advised him to remove his Facebook page!
Even Farmer knows the importance of that phone, it is how he and his office hung all those involved in the happy pappy case that he was intimately involved with investigating. That’s how it was revealed that Frankfort Police Department Chief Abrams had 63 communications with the Curtsinger guy. That is how they tied FPD DARE representative, Mike Wells, and KSP DOT's, Steve Oliver, into this crime syndicate.
Farmer’s phone needs to be “broke” to retrieve all of his deleted message, locations, etc., during the days preceding and during the mob riot. Farmer admitted, "I actually witnessed people from literally all over the globe from every race and nationality cheering for Trump and I have become acquainted with many of them thru social media and otherwise. The people that I saw "storm" the capital were form all walks of life." Trump wasn't there at the Capital, BTW!
That is a lot of evidence that Farmer has provided but to really find out what happened, they need his phone, and that isn't going to happen. It may be at the bottom of the Kentucky River by now. Meanwhile, the FBI is searching through an mountain of video with face recognition software, and if Farmer was in any of it, they will find him. He may get a knock on his door some evening, according to FBI Director Wray.
The Justice Department also announced on Thursday evening that the FBI had received more than 140,000 tips identifying rioters and had opened about 200 subject case files. The department has also launched an online portal for the public to track people charged with criminal offenses related to the Capitol attack. If you have any information about this matter, contact the FBI.
Of course, if he has done nothing wrong, Detective Farmer could always give consent to have his phone “broke”, revealing where he was and when, as well as who he was talking to and about what. Why not put an end to all of the speculation and clear his good name. Isn’t that what he told Curtsinger in the Pappy case? My bet is that Farmer will never give consent to do this, because there are plenty of things on that phone that he needs to hide, like all of those right wing radical militia members that he claims he became acquainted with “thru social media and otherwise.”
Nothing against Mr. Christiansen, but this looks like "circling the wagons" to me. The sheriff's association recommended Christiansen to our sheriff who hired him to investigate the actions of one of the sheriff's employees, Deputy Jeff Farmer, who has had complaints against him from local citizens and who made public that he attended an illegal riot at the US. capitol on Jan 6. So the sheriff asked/got recommendation by sheriff's association to hire an investigator, who is now essentially the sheriff's employee in order to investigate another of the sheriff's employees. This all sounds much too cozy to me. Farmer should resign and save our community all this hassle and the increasing budget expenses due to his "expressing himself" at a riot.
You have every reason to be skeptical, because private investigators like Mr. Christiansen are not another Robert Mueller, special counsel overseeing an investigation. He has no subpoena powers or other authority to conduct a proper investigation. In fact, I would feel a heck of a lot more comfortable with Austin Horn doing it, as he has already uncovered far more than this private investigator is likely to. Horn truly has not dog in this fight. The Kentucky Sheriff's Association is hardly a disinterested, independent third party, as with most police associations/unions, the available evidence suggests that police unions are a major obstacle to holding rogue police officers accountable. Police officers are often immune from civil suit or formal legal action for violent misconduct.
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