HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (KT) – A Hopkinsville Police Officer was fatally shot Thursday afternoon by a suspect pretending to be a police officer, the Kentucky New Era reported.
The wounded officer was taken to Jennie Stuart Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
Gov. Matt Bevin confirmed on Twitter that the officer, whose name has not been released, died from his injuries.
“Tonight a police officer in Hopkinsville, KY was killed in the line of duty,” the governor tweeted.
Kentucky State Police are investigating the shooting. State Sen. Whitney Westerfield tweeted that KSP officers were on the way to “help Hopkinsville run this guy to the ground.”
Hopkinsville Mayor Carter Hendricks confirmed that the officer was off duty and was in his own vehicle when he was shot, the newspaper reported.
At approximately 5:10 p.m. the off-duty HPD officer was pulled over in his personal vehicle by a suspect pretending to be a police officer. Shortly after that the officer was fatally shot by the suspect, 35-year-old James Kenneth Decoursey, according to police.
Officers are looking for the suspect. He is believed to be driving a 1997 white Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with the license plate 2070GH. He is described as a white male, 6’1″ tall and roughly 260 lbs with brown eyes and black hair.
“There is no greater sacrifice than that of a person willing to lay down their life for another … Thank God for the #ThinBlueLine,” Bevin tweeted.
Lawmakers meeting in the House in Frankfort took a moment of silence after Rep. Walker Wood of Hopkinsville told them an officer had been shot.
