A routine traffic stop on a Kentucky interstate turned ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Monday when a state trooper was gunned down, launching a statewide manhunt that ended with a suspect in custody.
Trooper Hayden Phillips, 30, was killed along Interstate 65 in Warren County. He leaves behind a wife and three young sons.
“He was senselessly murdered,” U.S. Attorney Kyle Bumgarner said at a Monday night news conference. “We have a wife that expected her husband to come home. We have three little boys who don’t have a dad.”
Phillips was a three-year veteran of Kentucky State Police, ᴀssigned to Post 3 in Bowling Green. He graduated from Cadet Class 103 and was known to fellow troopers as Unit 369.
“Because he served us, because he served our community, because he wanted to keep each of us safe,” Bumgarner said. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
Kentucky State Police Commissioner Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. pledged to pursue justice for Phillips.
“We will seek justice for Hayden,” Burnett said. “Let me repeat that, we will seek justice for Hayden. We will not rest until this happens.”
Burnett called Phillips’ death one of the most difficult moments the agency could endure.
“His dedication to duty and commitment to the Commonwealth will never be forgotten,” Burnett said. “Our hearts break for Trooper Phillips’ family, loved ones and fellow troopers as we grieve this tremendous loss.”
State police initially announced a trooper-involved shooting on northbound I-65 near the 38-mile marker. They then asked the public to watch for a bluish-gray Honda Civic with an Alabama tag that had been present during the shooting. A Blue Alert identified Emonnie Branch as the wanted person.
Louisville Metro Police took Branch into custody, and state police canceled the alert. Burnett said Branch was being charged with the murder of a first responder. Bumgarner said Branch would be returned to Warren County to face state murder charges.
“I want you to know I only mentioned his name one time,” Burnett said of Branch, condemning what he called the suspect’s “cowardly actions.”
Authorities have not said why Phillips stopped the vehicle or whether Branch had a prior criminal record.
“One of our own was gunned down and murdered on the side of the road,” Bumgarner said. He pledged that the Justice Department would give Kentucky prosecutors and investigators “every tool” and “every bit of support” it could provide.
Burnett addressed Phillips’ family directly, promising that state police would stand beside them.
“You will not walk this path alone,” he said.
“Rest Easy U/369. We have it from here,” state police wrote in a tribute to Phillips.
Gov. Andy Beshear called Phillips a hero who dedicated himself to protecting Kentucky. He said the trooper was also “a devoted husband and loving father to three children.”
“Let us wrap our arms around this family during this unimaginable time,” the governor wrote.
Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., thanked law enforcement for its swift work and said Phillips’ wife, their three young children and his colleagues were in his prayers. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., urged people to pray for Phillips’ family and fellow officers.
Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., also offered prayers for Phillips’ family and said Kentucky would not forget his service.
“Alongside his fellow KSP troopers and all who knew and loved him, we will not forget his service to our commonwealth,” McGarvey wrote.
Country singer Lee Greenwood mourned Phillips, writing that he and his wife, Kim, had learned of the trooper’s death and would “always stand with the men and women in blue.”