LYON COUNTY, KY (WKYT) - Kentucky State Police have identified the victim and suspect in a deadly trooper-involved shooting.
KSP said around 11 Sunday night, Trooper Joseph Ponder pulled over a car for a traffic stop. Police say the vehicle sped away from the scene and Trooper Ponder followed.
The suspect then reportedly fired multiple shots into the trooper's cruiser. The rounds hit the vehicle and Ponder multiple times.
Ponder was taken to a hospital in Princeton, Kentucky where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
KSP investigators identified the suspect as Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, 25, from Missouri. He's described as a black man, standing 5'5", weighing 140 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing dark clothes.
Troopers consider him armed and dangerous and a manhunt is underway.
Trooper Ponder, 31, was from Rineyville and was stationed at Post 1 in Mayfeild. He graduated from the KSP Training Academy in January 2015.
KSP said around 11 Sunday night, Trooper Joseph Ponder pulled over a car for a traffic stop. Police say the vehicle sped away from the scene and Trooper Ponder followed.
The suspect then reportedly fired multiple shots into the trooper's cruiser. The rounds hit the vehicle and Ponder multiple times.
Ponder was taken to a hospital in Princeton, Kentucky where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
KSP investigators identified the suspect as Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, 25, from Missouri. He's described as a black man, standing 5'5", weighing 140 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing dark clothes.
Troopers consider him armed and dangerous and a manhunt is underway.
Trooper Ponder, 31, was from Rineyville and was stationed at Post 1 in Mayfeild. He graduated from the KSP Training Academy in January 2015.