LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Thursday announced the members of the new Search Warrant Task Force. Groups that are involved with or are affected by the search warrant process selected the individuals, according to a release. The representatives include members of the judiciary, legislators, law enforcement, prosecutors, the Public Advocate, local officials, a representative of the NAACP, and citizen members.
Cameron formed the Search Warrant Task Force by executive order and charged the group with reviewing the search warrant process in Kentucky. The task force's goal is to develop best practices for the effective and safe execution of search warrants in Kentucky with the mission of establishing the state’s search warrant process as a national model.
“I appreciate the men and women who have agreed to join the task force and give their time and knowledge in service to the Commonwealth,” said Cameron. “My hope is that the group’s review of our search warrant process will improve public safety by ensuring that Kentucky utilizes best practices when securing and executing search warrants.”
The following people will serve on the task force:
- Denise Bentley, Former Democrat Louisville Metro Councilwoman, Legislative Assistant to Metro Council District 5, representing citizens at-large
- Lieutenant Bryan Bogard, Covington Police Department, representing the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police
- Colonel Phillip Burnett, Jr., Commissioner, Kentucky State Police
- Judge Foster Cotthoff, District Court Judge, 3rd Judicial District, Christian County, representing the Kentucky Court of Justice
- Judge Charles Cunningham, Circuit Court Judge, 30th Judicial Circuit, Jefferson County, representing the Kentucky Court of Justice
- Jeff Gregory, Mayor, City of Elizabethtown, representing the Kentucky League of Cities
- Nicolai Jilek, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training
- Representative Ed Massey, Chair, House Judiciary Committee
- Ramon McGee, Attorney, The Law Office of Ramon McGee, representing the Kentucky Conference of the NAACP
- Chief Joe Monroe, University of Kentucky Police Department, representing the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police
- David L. Nicholson, Circuit Court Clerk, Jefferson County, representing the Kentucky Association of Counties
- Damon Preston, Public Advocate
- Joseph Ross, County Attorney, Logan County, representing the Kentucky County Attorneys Association
- Rob Sanders, Commonwealth’s Attorney, 16th Judicial Circuit, representing the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Association
- Sheriff Walt Sholar, Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office, representing the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association
- Detective Elizabeth Thomas, Lexington Police Department, representing the Kentucky Narcotics Officers Association
- Senator Whitney Westerfield, Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
- George Wright, Professor, Senior Adviser to the President, and Vice President for Institutional Diversity, University of Kentucky, representing citizens at-large
The task force will announce the date of its first meeting in the coming days.
