LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron proposed awarding recruitment and retention bonuses to bolster police forces, part of a sweeping public safety plan unveiled Tuesday that calls for tougher penalties against drug traffickers found responsible for causing deaths in Kentucky.
What You Need To Know
- Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron unveiled his sweeping public safety plan Tuesday
- It calls for tougher drug trafficking penalties and pursuit of the death penalty for murdering a police officer
- On the issue of police accountability, Cameron said civilian review boards should be blocked from obtaining subpoena power
- At an event last month, Beshear touted his crime-fighting record, noting he pushed for large pay raises for state troopers as well as increased training for police officers
In his first major policy rollout of the general election campaign, Cameron declared that his plan would have a "direct impact on the safety of our citizens and the morale of our law enforcement community.”
Cameron, the state's attorney general, also proposed requiring that prosecutors pursue the death penalty against anyone convicted of murdering a police officer.
“I do want to send a strong message that we want our law enforcement community to understand that they are protected and that they are cared for because they protect and serve our communities across the Commonwealth," Cameron told Spectrum News 1 and other reporters Tuesday in Lexington.
He pledged to work with lawmakers to pass a wiretapping law to support investigations of drug- and gang-related crime. And he vowed to push for a standalone carjacking law aimed at a crime he said has become more prevalent in Kentucky cities.
Cameron is challenging incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in one of the nation’s most closely watched campaigns in 2023. Beshear preceded Cameron as Kentucky's attorney general, and the bitter rivals are trying to one-up the other in touting their crime-fighting and police-friendly records.
While unveiling his plan, Cameron referred to public safety as the "first responsibility of the government.” An overarching goal is to make Kentucky “the best place in America to be a police officer,” he said.
Cameron's stance on civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies drew the most scrutiny at his news conference Tuesday. Cameron said civilian review boards should be blocked from obtaining subpoena power. He said he supports independent groups striving “to be engaged constructively in conversations” with law enforcement, but said he draws the line when it comes to giving them subpoena power.
“We already have a judicial system that has the ability to subpoena law enforcement," Cameron said.
Public safety has risen to prominence in Kentucky's gubernatorial campaign.
At an event last month, Beshear touted his crime-fighting record, noting he pushed for large pay raises for state troopers as well as increased training for police officers. During his term as attorney general, Beshear said, he prosecuted child sex offenders, cleared a rape kit backlog and combated senior scams. The governor says he will seek additional funding for police training and body armor to protect law officers if he wins another term in November.
Cameron responded Tuesday with his own detailed plan to combat crime and support law enforcement. If elected, the Republican challenger said the first budget he presents to lawmakers would include working to develop $5,000 recruitment and retention bonuses for law enforcement.
“I firmly believe as the governor, I should be in the schools recruiting folks to join a noble profession which is the law enforcement community. I don’t know if Andy Beshear has done that, but I firmly believe that’s part of the responsibility of being governor," Cameron said.
Cameron said Kentucky should follow the lead of other states in allowing murder charges to be filed against drug dealers who push deadly substances.
Beshear has often pointed to gains made by Kentucky in its life-and-death battle against the drug crisis. Kentucky was among eight states that reported sizable overdose death decreases last year of about 100 or more, compared with the previous calendar year. The Democratic governor has pointed to a 50% increase in the number of drug treatment beds in Kentucky since he became governor in late 2019.
There are “far too many Kentuckians that we’re losing,” Beshear said last month, but the report offered “a real ray of hope that everyone, doing their best every single day, can make a difference.”
In pushing for a statewide wiretapping law to help combat drug organizations and gang activity, Cameron said it should include constitutional protections and judicial review procedures.
Another proposal in Cameron's plan calls for making changes to the state parole board to increase the vote threshold for an inmate's release and allowing the governor to remove board members. And he wants to require DNA collection from people booked for the most serious felony offenses, while including protections that automatically purge DNA when there's an acquittal or the charges are dismissed.
A Beshear campaign spokesperson responded to Cameron’s unveiling with a written statement. “Daniel Cameron has refused to take any responsibility for crime as attorney general and helped cover for Matt Bevin's indefensible pardons for murderers and a child rapist. Unlike Cameron's record of covering for criminals and lying about grand jury proceedings, Andy Beshear actually delivered pay raises for law enforcement – leading to the largest Kentucky State Police recruiting class in years," said a spokesperson for Beshear's campaign.
Cameron says he has the endorsement of over 200 law enforcement officials across the Commonwealth.
The Associated Press Contributed to this report.