Published: February 01, 2008 11:39 pm      

Candidate's police experience questioned

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By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Jefferson County State’s Attorney candidate Kent Renshaw has come under fire after allegations were made public questioning campaign claims regarding law enforcement experience and prior work in the State’s Attorney office.

According to campaign literature and comments made by Renshaw in public forums, he says he has more than 10 years’ experience in law enforcement. Employment records with the city of Mt. Vernon state he was employed from Nov. 5, 1974 to Nov. 5, 1975 and then again from June 1, 1983 to May 15, 1984 — approximately two years. Employment records with the city of Centralia state Renshaw was employed as a patrolman from Jan. 20, 1986 to Aug. 3, 1987. A resume provided by Renshaw also states he worked at Central City with his entire tenure at Centralia and Central City through October 1988, which would amend the paid law enforcement experience in Marion County to about two years.

“I started in November 1974 through December of ’75 or the beginning of 1976,” Renshaw said of his time at MVPD. “I continued to work on the Auxiliary (Police Force). I went back to work in the coal mines because I wasn’t making enough money, but I enjoyed police work and stayed on with the Auxiliary until the coal mine closed in June 1983.”

According to former MVPD Capt. Ray Bravard, he was one of many officers which supervised Renshaw as an auxiliary officer.

“He rode with the regular police officers and was supervised by whoever the shift commander was on that particular day,” Bravard said.

“All that time I was on the Auxiliary Police Department, I worked two to three shifts per week,” Renshaw said. “Sometimes I was in the car by myself. ... As Ray said, he supervised, but I was by myself because I had already been to the police training institute and kept up my firearms requirements. That’s over 10 years, not counting my time in Centralia.”

In addition, Renshaw is facing allegations he has inaccurately stated at public forums that he worked as a sworn assistant state’s attorney under Gary Duncan.

Duncan says Renshaw served as a law school extern from June 1993 to August 1993. Duncan said Renshaw was not employed as an assistant state’s attorney during the times in question, although Renshaw may have performed some contractual work for the office following his internship and prior to receiving the results from his bar exam. Duncan stated he didn’t have records of the contract work.

Renshaw said Duncan swore him in as an assistant state’s attorney during his internship and that under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711, he worked as an attorney during the internship and prosecuted traffic and misdemeanor cases.

Supreme Court Rule 711 allows law students who have not received their state bar results to work under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney. According to documents from Southern Illinois University and Duncan, Renshaw was in the courtroom under the direct supervision of Nicole VanZandt and Steve Ewall.

According to information provided by Renshaw of bills to the county, he was paid about $990 as an independent contractor.

Renshaw said the initial report which questioned his law enforcement and claims of service in the state’s attorney’s office were initiated by his opponent in Tuesday’s Primary Election and by his opponent’s supporters.

“For them to attack my service to the county as a volunteer officer, placing his life on the line along with other officers, without compensation of any kind is ... beyond what I expected from this opponent and his contributors,” Renshaw said.