A Kentucky State Police trooper was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop, leading to an intense search that ended in the arrest of a suspect.
Officials said 30-year-old Post 3 Trooper Hayden Phillips pulled a car over on Interstate 65 in Warren County, Kentucky, on Sept. 28 at about 2 p.m. CT. The suspect fired, killing Phillips, and took off. A witness driving by called authorities, officials said at a news conference.
Later in the evening, Emonnie Branch, 51, of Portland, Tennessee, was located in Jefferson County about 125 miles away and arrested by the Louisville Metro Police. Branch faces a charge of murder of a first responder, Col. Phillip Burnett, Jr. of the Kentucky State Police said.
“Hayden was murdered on the side of the road doing what is routine, doing a traffic stop. He was senselessly murdered,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky Kyle Bumgarner said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Branch had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. USA TODAY has reached out to the public defender’s office serving Warren County.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips was killed on duty Sept. 28.
Phillips, who was with the state police for three years, left behind a wife and three young sons, officials said.
“We will seek justice for Hayden. We will not rest until this happens,” Burnett said in a message to Phillips’ family.
In a post to social media, Gov. Andy Beshear asked Kentuckians to pray for Phillips’s family.
“Hayden was a hero who dedicated himself to protecting our commonwealth,” he said. “Even more, he was a devoted husband and loving father to three children. Let us wrap our arms around this family during this unimaginable time.”
Law enforcement agencies around Kentucky shared statements of condolences for the Phillips family and loved ones.
Kentucky state Sens. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green; David Givens, R-Greensburg; and Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, who represent districts including Warren County, issued a joint statement on behalf of Senate Majority Leadership and the Senate Majority Caucus, calling Phillip’s death a “heartbreaking reminder” of the risk law enforcement officers face each day.
“There is no excuse for violence against law enforcement. These men and women leave their families each day knowing a routine call or traffic stop can turn dangerous in an instant,” the statement reads. “Their families carry that burden with them. Today, one Kentucky family experienced the terrible reality behind that risk.”
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: State trooper ‘senselessly murdered’ during traffic stop, officials say
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