While Cameron campaigns on new public safety plan, Beshear vows to restore police pensions

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Gun violence has impacted almost every corner of Jefferson County. Louisville has recorded more than 100 homicides a year for three straight years, and the first half of 2023 has been worse than the same timeframe in 2022.

The safety of Kentucky's communities and the safety of police officers and their families will be a large focus of the gubernatorial race between Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Each man has a plan to increase resources for law enforcement, but those plans differ in many ways.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron meets with supports at a campaign stop in Brandenburg. July 14, 2023. *(WDRB Photo)*

"We have seen record homicide rates in Louisville roughly last three years," Cameron said Friday at a campaign stop in Brandenburg. "We need leadership in our governor's office that's willing to stand up for law enforcement and going to stand up to fight against the violent crime issues that we have and get those down."

Cameron's sweeping public safety plan, unveiled Tuesday, is multi-faceted, headlined by the desire to create a new state police post in Louisville, hoping to increase the size of Kentucky State Police and cut off criminal activity closer to major sources.

Here are the main points of his plan:

Awarding recruitment and retention bonuses to bolster police forces.
Requiring that prosecutors pursue the death penalty against anyone convicted of murdering a police officer.
Working with lawmakers to pass a wiretapping law to support investigations of drug- and gang-related crime.
Pushing for a standalone carjacking law aimed at a crime that he said has become more prevalent in Kentucky cities.
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.
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.
Build a new Kentucky State Police post, which would work as a central hub to support the efforts of LMPD and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

"I'm gonna work tooth and nail with our legislature to get as much as this plan passed as possible," Cameron said. "Our law enforcement community deserves it, and our families deserve it. This plan will allow us to make sure that Kentucky is a safe place to raise kids and to live."

If elected governor, Cameron said he would handle topics such as education and safety very differently from Beshear.

"Andy Beshear sat on his hands these last three years and done absolutely nothing," Cameron said. "That's got to change, and I'm the governor to do it."

At a campaign stop Friday in Shelbyville, Beshear said he wants to start a specific body armor fund to make sure every law enforcement is officer is "as best protected as they can be." He also said he wants to restore full pensions for every officer in the state.

In Louisville, he said a KSP post would only hurt the state overall, and the real solution is to further empower the Louisville Metro Police Department.

"Most people don't know that LMPD has more active officers than the Kentucky State Police has troopers," Beshear said. "Putting a new post in Louisville — because Louisville is a part of a KSP region already — would remove maybe the one trooper that patrols two counties, leaving some counties without any law enforcement whatsoever."

Beshear said Cameron's public safety plan showcases his distrust with LMPD.

"The solution for Louisville has to be a strong, solid LMPD with a community that believes and works with them," Beshear said.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said LMPD and KSP have roughly 400 open positions combined. Cameron wants to work with the General Assembly to institute $5,000 recruitment and retention bonuses for officers.

"I have a strong relationship already with the members of our legislature, and Andy Beshear couldn't dream of getting anything like this passed because he has no relationship with our legislature," Cameron said. "I'm going to be governor that works with them and recognizes that they are equal branch, a co-equal branch that we need to work with to get things done for our citizens here."

Beshear also promises more raises but, in the same breath, didn't miss the opportunity to lay some of the blame for the state's crime issues at the feet of its attorney general.

"Every day, I take responsibility for anything that impacts Kentucky families," Beshear said. "But my opponent is a top law enforcement official top prosecutor and says he takes zero responsibility for the crime rate. You've got to have a governor that's willing to step up and to push forward."

Beshear will again run with Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman by his side. Cameron said he's chosen his running mate and will announce it "soon enough."

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