Federal, state, and local law enforcers in Louisville are cooperating on a new Project Recoil that sends many firearms cases to federal court, where they may get longer prison sentences, the Louisville Courier Journal reports. U.S. Attorney David Hale, Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Wine, Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad and other officials announced the effort Tuesday.
A similar project called Operation Backfire faded after then-Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel said he would be “abdicating his responsibility to voters who elected him” if he handed cases over to federal prosecutors. In the past, federal authorities were perceived as “cherry picking” the best state cases and leaving state prosecutors with the tougher ones. Now, Wine said “there is a natural bond between offices” because some former federal prosecutors work for the local office and vice versa.