Former U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman stopped in the Daviess County Courthouse Thursday morning to talk to local politicians and a few residents about his campaign to become the next Kentucky Attorney General.
As a Daviess County native, Coleman said that should he be elected next fall, he hopes to reconnect with many elected officials and officers.
“I want to get back to working with some of the finest people I know who carry a badge and a gun, to deal with these threats that are coming over our porous border,” he said.
Coleman said that he believes all 20 drug overdoses in Daviess County over the last year can be traced to the southern border, and said he would work with other state attorneys general to keep drugs from entering the country.
Another issue Coleman hopes to address is adult and pediatric mental health by trying to build relationships between agencies that he said are not working together currently.
“Our biggest limiting factor in law enforcement oftentimes is not resources; it’s what it says on our badge. It’s that we don’t necessarily have a history of working well together,” Coleman said.
By instituting more effective collaborations, he said the state would be able to tackle issues such as drug use and even juvenile violence.
Coleman noted how Louisville law enforcement is able to compare notes and use intelligence-led policing to target a narrowed population with the most violent offenders. Through that, there are focused efforts to incentivize the population to stop committing violence.
Similarly, Coleman hopes to reconnect with Owensboro Police Chief Art Ealum to help Owensboro implement such strategies.
“We have a juvenile system that’s inadequate … and what we’re doing now is not working. It’s not working in Daviess County. It’s not working in Jefferson County. We have to take another look at our juvenile justice system,” Coleman said.
Coleman has received endorsements from several leaders throughout the Commonwealth. He has also been endorsed by Matthew Whitaker, former Acting Attorney General for President Donald Trump.
While U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie hasn’t given a formal endorsement, he said he supports Coleman. Their working relationship started when Coleman was working with Guthrie and Senator Mitch McConnell on law enforcement issues when the Congressman first started his position.
“I think that he’s a perfect candidate for Kentucky’s Attorney General,” Guthrie said. “I’m happy for him running.”
