By James Brown
Glasgow News 1
Barren County Sheriff Kent Keen will step down before the official end of his term.
Barren County Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd confirmed that Keen had turned in his written resignation Tuesday following the Barren County Fiscal Court meeting. She said in a text to Glasgow News 1 that an acceptance letter was sent to Keen on Wednesday.
A new sheriff will be appointed Friday, Oct.30, during a special-called fiscal meeting. Keen will be sheriff until his effective resignation date of Oct. 31.
Keen announced in November 2025 that he would not seek reelection.
“There’s other things in my life that I can do and it just feels like a good time to get out of law enforcement,” he said at the time.
Keen was first appointed as Barren County Sheriff in 2013 by former judge-executive Davie Greer after retiring as one of the assistant chiefs in the Glasgow Police Department in 2011. He ran for the office for the first time in 2014 and won in the general election by more than 6,000 votes.
Keen is in his third full term as sheriff after winning in 2022. The term is supposed to end Dec. 31, 2026.
Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Bow won the May Republican primary for sheriff. He is unopposed in the general election, which is Nov. 3.
Keen told Glasgow News 1 he would provide a statement Saturday about why he chose to announce his resignation now.
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