Attorney General candidate backs Guard in Montgomery, pushes police staffing plan

Republican Attorney General nominee Katherine Robertson said she supports sending the National Guard to Montgomery to address crime, but she said the deployment would not solve the city's staffing problems.

Robertson, who has served as chief counsel to Attorney General Steve Marshall for 10 years, discussed the proposal on WVNN's "The Dale Jackson Show." She described a Guard deployment as a short-term response while officials work on a permanent solution.

"The National Guard, you know, calling them in is is to kind of surge and do a quick reaction to a problem, to tamp things down for a while while you work on solving the long-term problem, and so I mean I don't have a problem with that," Robertson said. "I think that's great. I mean anything you can do to reduce crime, but it does not replace having a long-term fix for Montgomery."

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee for governor, has said he might send the Guard to Montgomery. Tuberville is running on a pledge to cut violent crime in Alabama's four largest cities by 20% before his first term ends. In an ad released earlier this year, Tuberville said he would send the Guard on day one if elected.

Robertson pointed to a proposal from State Senator Will Barfoot, a Republican from Pike Road, as the approach Montgomery needs. Barfoot's bill would have required certain large municipal police departments to keep at least 1.9 full-time officers per 1,000 residents. Cities falling below that level would have had five years to raise staffing before facing oversight from the Alabama Lawforcement Agency.

"I believe that the long-term fix for Montgomery looks a lot like what Senator Barfoot offered last year," Robertson said. She said the state should take over a police department when local officials will not build up their forces.

The bill passed the Senate but died when the House adjourned without holding a vote. City officials opposed the measure, calling it an unfunded state mandate. They said Montgomery's public safety strategy was producing results.

Robertson added that the proposal needs work but should not be abandoned. "Does it need some polishing up? Sure, but as a general concept, I don't think we ought to surrender a city just because the local leadership is poor," she said. She said Montgomery has the money to hire officers but has not done so.

Robertson faces Democrat Jeff McLaughlin in the general election on November 3.