FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 4, 2022) – Department of Corrections (DOC) Deputy Commissioner Randy White announced today that Phillip Smith has been named eastern region commander of the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT).
“Phillip Smith is an important part of our team,” said CNT State Commander William Knight. “He has been invaluable in the planning and coordination of the CNT basic academy and the yearly CNT training conference over the past several years. Smith is both knowledgeable and dependable when it comes to his Crisis Negotiation Team and state training team duties. He served as the team leader at EKCC and as a member of the state training team, gaining the experience and understanding along the way that makes him an outstanding choice as the eastern region CNT commander.”
Smith began his career as a correctional officer at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC) in 2007. He left the DOC in 2011 but returned as a correctional officer at EKCC in 2016. He promoted to sergeant in 2017 and then lieutenant in 2018. In 2019, Smith became a unit administrator I and promoted to unit administrator II in 2021.
In 2018, Smith joined EKCC’s Crisis Negotiation Team and completed the CNT basic academy. In 2019, Smith was named the EKCC CNT commander.