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Attorney General Russell Coleman outlines push on violent crime, drug prevention and online-child safety
Summary
Attorney General Russell Coleman told the interim Judiciary Committee the Office of the Attorney General is prioritizing violent-crime prosecutions in Louisville, expanded digital forensics in West Kentucky, opioid-abatement prevention funding and litigation against tech platforms that expose children to harm.
Attorney General Russell Coleman told the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary on June 9 that his office is concentrating on three priorities: supporting law enforcement in violent-crime mitigation, combating the drug crisis and countering online exploitation of children.
Coleman, introduced to the committee as "Russell Coleman," said the office functions as a "Swiss Army knife" for the Commonwealth and highlighted recent partnerships with federal authorities and local law enforcement. "It's my privilege to serve as attorney general of our commonwealth," he said in opening remarks.
Coleman described a new violent-crime team operating in Louisville that has produced indictments and convictions, saying the unit is "going after the trigger pullers" and has secured sentences including a 10-year term and two five-year terms for convicted offenders. He also credited recent grants that supplied body armor and other protective gear, asserting the share of officers without adequate armor fell from about 20% to 1% after legislative investment.
On drug policy, Coleman reported the Commonwealth recorded 1,110 overdose deaths in 2025, the lowest since 2014, but cautioned that "we have to do better." He described distribution of nearly $34 million in opioid-abatement settlement funds through the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, and singled out a $5.78 million investment in a youth-prevention campaign called Better Without It (BWI) targeted at social-media audiences.
Coleman described actions to address emerging synthetic drugs, saying the federal DEA temporarily scheduled bromazilam after a 21-state request and local strike-force reporting; he characterized scheduling as a tool that "empowers law enforcement across the country." He also touted a planned digital forensics lab in Mayfield funded with $900,000 to reduce the need to transport device evidence to Lexington or Frankfort.
On online harms to children, Coleman emphasized litigation and cross-state coordination. "We filed a lawsuit against Roblox," he said, and the Commonwealth has also sued an AI chatbot company (Character AI) and joined multi-state litigation against Meta and other platforms. Coleman urged parents to limit childrens' access to platforms until they are made safer and said his office will continue to press platforms and regulators.
In closing, Coleman urged executive action in a specific death-penalty case involving the killings of Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Brisco, saying the governor "could sign a death warrant today" and calling for timely resolution for the victims' families.
Committee members pressed Coleman in Q&A on whether the legislature or the AG should have authority to act if a governor declines to sign a death warrant; Coleman said he would "circle back" after reviewing constitutional and statutory constraints. Representative Neimus asked the AG to ensure state boards do not cooperate with what he described as an unlawful expansion of medical-marijuana qualifying conditions; Coleman acknowledged the concern and noted the office will review enforcement options.
The committee thanked Coleman and moved to the Kentucky State Police briefing.
