The second black trooper to join the KSP lives in Bowling Green

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – With the Kentucky State Police turning 75 this year, a name was brought up by a co-worker who he shared a good relationship with. A man by the name of Joe Denning, a Bowling Green native slowly made history in his own way shortly after desegregation as the second black trooper to be part of the KSP, so of course News 40 wanted to hear from him.

Denning, 77, said he grew up like every other American in his age range, in a segregated society and Bowling Green was no different. Going to an all black high school, State Street High was ran by Bowling Green Independent School District, who Denning said didn’t integrate till 1966 even though Brown v. Board of Education required schools to integrate in 1954.

Denning recalls there were only two restaurants blacks were served at, both on 3rd Street up until he graduated. After graduating, eventually Denning found himself in law enforcement, something he always wanted to do. Notably, he wasn’t pressured or asked by any kind of group to make his way into uniform.

Denning was Bowling Green’s first Black police officer and after being encouraged by several people in the department including an FBI agent, he would try his hand at being a state trooper for the second time (the first time he was denied due to back issues from military service).

When he finally made it in, he said he didn’t have any more problems than the white officers but he does remember one time on 1-64, eastbound, a black family from Michigan that he encountered. He said the man driving rolled down the window and said ” now you ain’t gon give me a ticket are you brother?” to which Denning replied with a ticket issued in the full amount. The now former state trooper said the man was going around 100 mph.

Looking back at his career, he said he’s been very blessed to have been supported by good people of all backgrounds to get to the places he occupied, but called for more black Americans to become state troopers, saying diversity of departments is important.