The Republicans Governors Association (RGA) slammed Governor Ned Lamont’s record on public safety following a deadly week in the state.

Over the past days, multiple incidents left individuals in Connecticut in police custody or in the hospital due to gun violence.

In Bridgeport, an individual led police on a chase after the officers suspected his involvement in a shooting.

“Ned Lamont has turned Connecticut into a safe haven for violent criminals and failed to address one of the state’s top problems,” said RGA Spokesman Chris Gustafson. “While Connecticut families cannot trust Lamont to keep them safe, they can trust a leader like Bob Stefanowski who will crack down on crime and work with local communities to make them safe once again.”

Furthermore, multiple shootings in New Haven within 2 hours left three residents injured – one being a 21-year-old.

However, the violence has not remained limited to the two cities. In 2021, Hartford endured one of its deadliest years in recent history.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski has also criticized Lamont, offering a commitment to public safety on his campaign website.

“Not only is Governor Lamont ignoring residents, parents, victims and community leaders and the violence against young people of color, but he compounds his error by the lack of confidence from his own state police force, with 97% of state troopers expressing zero confidence in his ability to lead them and their refusal to endorse him for re-election,” the site says.

“I will advocate for a holistic approach to reform, not limited to the scope of criminal justice, but all-inclusive. We cannot wish these serious problems away nor can we ignore crime that we either see for ourselves or read about every day. We need local law enforcement, working with parents, and community leaders to tackle rising crime and evaluate their own police departments, and if there are problems, then we work together to fix them.”

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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Connecticut Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ned Lamont” by Ned Lamont.