NELSON COUNTY, Ky. — Former Bloomfield Police chief Harry Steven Cambron appeared at the Nelson County Justice Center on Thursday facing criminal charges as he entered a not guilty plea.
In May 2023, Cambron and former City Clerk Karen Bederman were fired by mayor Chris Dudgeon. It led to the resignation of several other city employees and a demand for answers from residents.
Authorities claim Cambron knowingly lied about an employee trading sexual favors for overdue bills and stealing funds from the city for personal purchases.
His attorney, Thomas Clay, spoke outside the courtroom about defending his client.
"Obviously Mr. Cambron was chief of police and he was doing what he was hired to do," Clay said. "He was doing it properly according to the information I have so we're going to present all that in court at the appropriate time.
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During Thursday's arraignment, Clay questioned one of the felony charges brought against Cambron. The judge read out loud in the courtroom how this indictment from the Commonwealth prosecutor said it claims Cambron "attempted to withhold information."
Clay pointed out to the judge that a Class D Felony charge on physical tampering with evidence brought against his client isn't under the district's court jurisdiction.
"It's the lowest level felony of the Kentucky penal code," Clay said. "Tampering with physical evidence, it carries one to five years of penitentiary. If a person is charged with attempting to commit that crime then it becomes a misdemeanor."
Cambron's termination lead to a public demand for answers in Bloomfield, and his attorney hopes to shed light in an upcoming trial.
"I'm not entirely sure how things got to this point but that's something we will get into and hopefully get a big picture of that," Clay said.
Cambron is also facing two other charges of falsely reporting an incident and official misconduct in the first degree. All to which he entered a not guilty plea.
His defense will now examine evidence obtained by prosecutors. A pretrial is set to take place on June 7 and a jury trial on June 24.
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