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*For Immediate Release:    *     
August 7, 2023
          
*Contact:    *     
Cassie Nichols
[email protected]

ICYMI: Kansas Highway Patrol's New Leader *Colonel* Erik Smith Seeks Solutions

*KEY QUOTE: *"“What I’m focused on is just making peace with the past and trying to take the agency into the future,” *Smith said* in an interview with The Star four weeks after he took over as the patrol’s acting superintendent as he awaits confirmation by the Kansas Senate."

*Kansas Highway Patrol's new leader Col. Smith seeks solutions [ [link removed] ]*
"*Katie Bernard, Kansas City Star
*"August 7, 2023


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[Col. Erik Smith], who began his career in the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, has promised a reset — and so far has garnered bipartisan support.


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After years of political squabbling over the future of the force, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are optimistic about the force’s future under Smith’s leadership.


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“Bringing in Col. Smith with his vast amount of experience, being outside of the Kansas Highway Patrol, I think bodes really well,” said Rep. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican. He added that the troopers he’d spoken to had good first impressions.


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“There’s nothing off the table for him and he’s willing to listen,” said Sean McCauley, a Kansas City attorney who represents the Troopers Association. “That is the breath of fresh air that the organization really needs.”


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Clear and open lines of communication, Smith said, will be the key to bringing a culture of energy and passion to the agency that helps recruitment and morale.

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