Kelly Craft ad attacks Daniel Cameron over 'woke' DOJ report on Louisville police

The volley of attacks flying back and forth between two of Kentucky's top Republican candidates for governor in the May primary is continuing this week — now drawing in the federal investigation of Louisville's police.

Kelly Craft's new TV ad attacks Attorney General Daniel Cameron for not opposing the U.S. Department of Justice's scathing report on civil rights violations of Louisville Metro Police, claiming he "let" President Joe Biden "and his woke DOJ ... take over" LMPD.

"Letting big government push their diversity agenda while crime skyrocketed, they failed Kentucky's law enforcement," the ad states, with an image of Cameron next to Biden. "As Governor, Kelly Craft will fight the big government takeover and support police."

Cameron fired back at Craft over the ad Tuesday, telling The Courier Journal it was "crazy" and "just a flat out lie."

"There'll be three more weeks of attacks from the Craft campaign because they're still trying to make (up) ground in the polls," Cameron said. "This thing is just crazy ... I just don't even understand how to respond to it other than it's just a flat out lie."

More: Coal and criminal justice: A look behind the Kelly Craft ad war against Daniel Cameron

The Justice Department announced in 2021 it would conduct a wide-ranging investigation into whether Louisville police engaged in a pattern of abuse and constitutional violations. The investigation stemmed in part from the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor in a raid of her apartment.

In March, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland personally delivered the blistering findings of the DOJ report, detailing years of civil rights violations against Black Louisvillians, including excessive force, invalid search warrants and unlawful detainments.

The DOJ and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg have agreed in principle to forge a consent decree adopting police reforms, the progress of which will be monitored and enforced by a federal judge.

In a press release on her ad Monday, Craft spokesman Weston Loyd said that Cameron "is siding with Joe Biden over Kentuckians," calling the attorney general's comments about the DOJ report "a slap in the face to the hardworking Louisville police officers and Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)."

In an interview shortly after the report was released, Cameron was asked about the River City Fraternal Order of Police's criticism of it as an "unfair assessment." The attorney general chose not to comment on that and instead said: "We appreciate and respect the work the Department of Justice has done."

More: DOJ investigation into Louisville police: What happens now with a consent decree

"If there are issues, they need to be addressed," Cameron added. "And the city of Louisville, I understand, and Mayor Greenberg are going to be working to address those issues."

In his only formal statement after the DOJ report, Cameron tweeted his support for law enforcement and hope that the city and Justice Department address the "lingering concerns" in Louisville.

"The vast majority of Kentucky’s law enforcement community protects & serves the Commonwealth with dignity & honor, & I am thankful to these brave men & women who put their lives on the line day in & day out to keep our communities safe," Cameron tweeted. "We hope that the U.S. Department of Justice’s work with Louisville Metro and city officials will help address lingering concerns & better allow law enforcement to keep people safe."

Cameron's office did not indict or prosecute any LMPD officers for Taylor's death, though the DOJ charged four last year for lying on the warrant to search her house, obstructing investigators or firing bullets into her neighbor's apartment.

More: Here's who is funding the PACs putting up TV ads in Kentucky's GOP primary for governor

Craft's newest ad is only the latest by those affiliated with her to hit Cameron on the issue of law enforcement or crime, as a PAC supporting her candidacy has aired ads over the past two months calling him "woke" for his past work with a criminal justice reform group supporting bail reform and changing simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Cameron responded to those ads by touting his endorsements from local law enforcement officials and prosecutors — as well as Donald Trump — and highlighting his record as attorney general fighting fentanyl, violent crime and child abuse.

While Cameron was shown to have a huge lead in the GOP primary in a January poll, another independent poll released this month showed Craft significantly cutting into his lead — likely aided by Craft's campaign and PAC dominating the airwaves with their ads this year, funded by $8.5 million from herself and her husband.

Cameron also has a well-funded PAC supporting him that recently went up with its own TV ad hitting Craft as "desperate," highlighting her failed attempt to win a Trump endorsement and poor attendance as ambassador to Canada.

Speaking about Craft's new ads Tuesday, Cameron said Craft has "a lot of money" to air them, but "I don't think you can buy this election. I don't think that it is impacting folks' decisions, because they're lies."

"I've got over 100 law enforcement officials that have endorsed me," Cameron said. "I think in that ad, the most she could muster up was a deputy sheriff from somewhere. It's just preposterous that she would just make things up."

Cameron added: "I just hope that after this primary, that she's going to want to spend this money in helping me beat Andy Beshear in November."

Addressing crime in Louisville, Cameron has called for creating a Kentucky State Police post in the city to combat the rise in murders and shootings, which faced immediate criticism from Gov. Andy Beshear — whom the winner of the GOP primary will presumably face in the general election.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky governor's race: Craft hits Cameron on 'woke' LMPD report