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WARREN COUNTY, Ky. (BFMG) — A Kentucky State Police trooper (KSP) was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Interstate 65 on Monday, authorities said. A suspect was arrested hours later in Louisville.
Trooper Hayden Phillips had stopped a vehicle on I-65 in Warren County when he was shot, according to state police. The vehicle fled, prompting a search by multiple law enforcement agencies and a statewide Blue Alert.
Police identified the suspect as Emonnie Branch, (51), of Portland, Tennessee. Louisville Metro Police (LMP) arrested Branch on Dixie Highway. Kentucky State Police said he has been charged with murder of a first responder. The charge is an allegation; Branch has not been convicted.
Phillips was assigned to State Police Post 3 in Bowling Green and was a graduate of Cadet Class 103. Gov. Andy Beshear described him as a husband and father of three.
“Hayden was our brother,” Trooper Katan Parker, a public affairs officer at Post 3, said at a Monday evening news conference. Parker called Phillips “special” and said his fellow troopers would miss him.
Authorities have not publicly explained what led to the shooting. The investigation is ongoing.
