The increased politicization of police in Ky gubernatorial campaign is troubling | Opinion

It’s not surprising to see Republican gubernatorial candidates Daniel Cameron and Kelly Craft tout their ties to the police. They are politicians after all, despite their frequent claims to the contrary. What’s far more surprising, and frankly troubling, is the willingness of police officers (and a few local police chiefs) to be used as props in tawdry politics.

Sheriffs do run in partisan races, but those used to focus on local matters, not national “culture war” issues. So it’s troubling to see not just their willingness, but their zeal, to be involved in this kind of partisanship. And make no mistake, the Cameron and Craft ads are very much part of the Culture Wars. These two ads don’t just talk about these candidates’ support for — or endorsement by — law enforcement. Both ads deal with the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and specifically the protests in Louisville after the police killing of Breonna Taylor in a botched “no-knock” warrant raid.

Kelly Craft’s ad is a pointed attack on Daniel Cameron. It notes that he didn’t try to stop the “Biden justice department” when it issued a report detailing numerous civil rights violations by the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) in the wake of Ms. Taylor’s death. The ad doesn’t mention what Cameron, the Kentucky Attorney General, could have done about a Federal investigation, nor does it say what Craft thinks should have been done.

Are the police officers that support Craft, particularly those who appear in her ad, taking a position on this DOJ report? Are they suggesting that the LMPD’s well documented history of racism and misbehavior isn’t a problem? Are they saying that it shouldn’t have been investigated? And more troubling, are they suggesting that these problems shouldn’t be addressed?

Cameron’s ad starts with a video of a Black Lives Matter protest at his home in Louisville in July 2020. Activists were protesting Cameron’s decision not to bring charged against the officers involved in Ms. Taylor’s killing. (Let me say that this protest at Cameron’s house was beyond the pale of decent political discourse, and that it was stupid and counterproductive.)

Protesters who illegally entered Cameron’s property were arrested for trespassing, and rightfully so. But as distasteful and stupid as it was, peaceful protests near a government official’s home are perfectly legal. One thing that is notable in Cameron’s ad is that a significant majority of the protesters at his house are black, while all but one of the officers standing behind him (literally and figuratively) are white.

Do the officers standing behind Cameron oppose the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest? Do they make the distinction between legal protest, and illegal behavior during a protest? And in a situation like that at Cameron’s home, are they able to make that distinction?

We live at a time when many people – left and right – question the behavior and the impartiality of the police. Criticism is widespread, and many police organizations are very vocal about the declining public support for law enforcement.

And so the willingness of some police officers to so publicly take sides over these issues is troubling. It raises questions about the judgment, if not the common sense, of these officers. Does this mean that they are fully participating in the culture wars? And if so, have they taken sides? If they have taken sides, will they use their official position to further their partisan views? Are they concerned about the corrosive effect of the deepening partisan divide in the nation and in the Commonwealth of Kentucky? Do they think their actions help or hurt?

Perhaps more importantly, do they really think it’s a good idea for law enforcement officers to be used as props in a highly contentious political campaign?

Michael Coblenz is an attorney in Lexington. He can be reached at mike@coblenzlaw.com.