Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday pushed back against a recent suggestion by Attorney General Daniel Cameron to create an outpost of the Kentucky State Police in Louisville to control violent crime.
Asked how he would combat increased violent crime in Louisville — such as the two deadly mass shootings last week — Cameron said on a podcast released Wednesday that KSP should put a post in the city “as a signal to the bad actors that live in these communities that we are taking crime seriously.”
At his weekly press conference Thursday, Beshear was asked about Cameron’s suggestion, responding that the attorney general should have first spoken with KSP leadership about its feasibility and questioning whether Cameron has enough faith in the Louisville Metro Police Department.
“It seems to show a lack of confidence by the attorney general in LMPD to respond to crime in Louisville,” Beshear said.
Both officials are running for governor this year, with Beshear expected to win the Democratic nomination and Cameron in the midst of a competitive Republican primary race.
Cameron soon responded to Beshear’s remarks in a tweet from his campaign, saying the governor “has consistently abandoned our cops for political gain. KY Law Enforcement doesn’t trust Beshear to have their back. When I’m governor, that’s going to change.”
Beshear led off by saying Cameron should have reached out to KSP’s commissioner before taking his position and also “think through questions like: ‘Where are you going to take those troopers from?'”
“Louisville has, I think, 50-plus law enforcement agencies, and many of our rural areas have a couple of deputies and the Kentucky State Police,” Beshear said.
The governor mentioned in passing the scathing U.S. Department of Justice report into civil rights abuses by LMPD in recent years, but said he still had faith in their ability to respond to crime — such as the heroic efforts of two officers who rushed to the scene of the Old National Bank mass shooting.