LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At a press conference on Thursday, Attorney General Russell Coleman announced a new Attorney General’s Office location in Louisville.
The office will initially be staffed by two prosecutors and a detective to take on violent criminal cases. The new team will collaborate with Commonwealth’s Attorney Whethers’ Office to be assigned and prosecute cases.
“Historically, the Attorney General’s Office has not taken an active role in prosecuting violent crime in Louisville. That changes today,” Coleman said. “Public safety in Louisville has rippling effects throughout Kentucky. Through the collaboration with Commonwealth’s Attorney Whethers, Mayor Greenberg, and other officials, our prosecutors and investigators will be here fully focused on keeping families in this community safe.”
According to the agreement between the Attorney General and the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the dedicated prosecutors and investigators from the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit and the Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will handle select cases involving nonfatal shootings, convicted felons in possession of a firearm, Louisville’s Group Violence Intervention Program (GVI) and the Prohibited Firearms Possessor program (PFP).
To date, the prosecutors are handling more than 75 cases.
“Protecting the innocent and dispensing justice is paramount for our entire office,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerina D. Whethers said.
The Attorney General’s new Violent Crime Reduction team includes Assistant Attorney General in Charge Critt Cunningham, Assistant Attorney General Hammad M. Khan, and Detective Robert Jones. Together, they bring more than 50 years of legal and law enforcement experience.
They will work from an office at 514 West Liberty Street, in a space secured by Mayor Craig Greenberg and Circuit Court Clerk Nicholson.
“Improving public safety in Louisville is our administration’s number one priority,” Greenberg said. “The creation of the Violent Crime Reduction team is a critical step in that work and will help coordinate the efforts of the Attorney General, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Metro Government, LMPD, the Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk and other partners to help us make Louisville a safer, stronger, and healthier city.”
Last year, Louisville experienced more than 400 nonfatal shootings, a release from the attorney general's office said.
“This is a unified front of prosecutors, law enforcement and other elected officials, of all political persuasions, working to thwart violent crime in Louisville,” Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said. “Each of us has our role in the system and we’re each committed to doing our part to making our community safer and stronger.”
