KENTUCKY — On Sunday, around 10:00 P.M, Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 24 in Kentucky.
After making contact, the Trooper discovered the driver had a suspended license.
Trooper Ponder learned that the driver, from Missouri, was travelling through the area with his 18-year-old niece and two children.
Police say Trooper Ponder was trying to make hotel arrangements for the man and his passengers.
“He was trying to help them out, and for an unknown reason, the driver fled,” spokesman Jay Thomas said.
“At the initial stop, it was his intent to put them all in a hotel without having to apprehend the driver,” spokesman Jay Thomas continued. “After he initiated the pursuit, I’m sure his mind was changed on that.”
A high-speed pursuit ensued with the suspect stopping abruptly, causing the front of Trooper Ponder’s police cruiser to crash into the suspect vehicle.
The driver leaned out of the window and fired several shots into the police cruiser striking the hood, windshield and Trooper Ponder multiple times. The suspect fled the scene on foot.
Trooper Ponder later died.
The suspect, Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, 25, was later killed in a firefight with police.
The suspect posted a SnapChat video after the shooting and said he regretted doing it but police still do not know what made Johnson-Shanks open fire for such a minor offense.
The dead suspect’s niece was arrested and charged with first-degree hindering prosecution or apprehension.
Trooper Ponder, 31, was a native of Rineyville, KY. Upon graduation from the KSP Training Academy in January 2015, he was stationed at Post 1, Mayfield and assigned to Trigg County.
