LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's been almost a week since the unexpected passing of a Lexington Community Corrections officer, and a GoFundMe account has been created to help his family during this difficult time.
Lexington Community Corrections Officer Kevin Chaney first joined the department in June 2024 as a custody officer in first shift.
"One of the very first friends I made downstairs after I got through the 13 weeks of training was Chaney," said Lexington Community Corrections Officer Lucinda Francis. "He was very encouraging. He was always there if I needed a helping hand. He made me laugh when I had bad days."
"If anyone in his class needed assistance with any of the techniques. Needed studying. He was the person that was right there with them," said Corporal Kelsey Brown with Lexington Community Connections. "Opening the book and saying, this is how I studied this. This is how I think you could get better at this."
Over the weekend, Officer Chaney died from natural causes, leaving behind a daughter, sister, and mother.
The department has lowered its flag at half-staff to honor Officer Chaney. His correctional family says he was one of the fairest and most dedicated people, a great example of what a correctional officer should be.
"We don't say this word very often here but quite. He was always making us laugh, like the chief said he was always a class clown. He didn't want to see ya upset so he would get you laughing before he left," said Officer Daniel Stone with Lexington Community Corrections.
Officer Francis says every Thursday, Chaney always showed up to work with Chick-fil-A. "He always saved me a chicken mini and there for a while it was the same chicken mini every Thursday morning and it was like a weekend recap for us. This morning when I came into work I kind of felt like a lost dog because he wasn't here."
Corporal Brown says they learned that through the family, Chaney was proud to work in corrections and wore his badge in honor of his daughter and family.
"What speaks most to Kevin Chaney is how missed he is to his brother and sister officers up and how committed they are to getting their arms around his family at this time," said Chief Scott Colvin with the Lexington Community Corrections.
If you'd like to help out the Chaney family, a GoFundMe account has been set up by his fellow officers.
