Man who shot Kentucky police officer dead is killed after manhunt

The man accused of shooting and killing a Kentucky State Police trooper on Sunday night was shot and killed while being apprehended. He was shot and killed after failing to comply with officers’ commands to drop his weapon, law enforcement officials said.

The news release says a chase ensued with the suspect stopping abruptly, causing the trooper’s vehicle to “make contact” with the rear of the suspect’s vehicle.

Kentucky State Police found the suspect in a wooded area close to Interstate 24, near where he allegedly shot the trooper, police said.

Trooper Ponder was transported via ambulance to the Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton, Ky., where he succumbed to his injuries at 11:41 p.m.

Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, who was shot dead by police Monday morning, appears to have regularly posted videos and articles on police shootings under the pseudonym “Jay MileHigh”, Vocativ reported.

Ponder, a Navy veteran, had been on the state police force less than a year.

Kentucky State Police will hold a news briefing at 4 p.m. That suspect fled when Ponder approached, prompting a pursuit.

Johnson-Shanks fled from the stop and was pursued by Ponder.

“We have a massive search going on right now with multiple agencies trying to locate the shooter”, Thomas said. While in high school, Ponder played baseball, football and broke track records in the state of Kentucky during his senior year.

As if this loss and the violence surrounding it did not sting enough, Ponder was the second KSP Trooper lost in a matter of weeks.

An 18-year-old woman in the auto, Johnson-Shanks’ niece, Ambrea R.J. Shanks of Florissant, was charged with first-degree hindering prosecution or apprehension and taken to jail Monday, police said.

State police spokesman Sgt. Johnson-Shanks died at an area hospital. 23-year-old Trooper Eric Chrisman of Lawrenceburg died in June. Under the heading “Justice for Mike Brown”, it reads, “Why is it taking so long to arrest those officers[?] All We Want Is Justice!!!!!”

“Six o’clock came around and I was still on the treadmill and that’s when they showed his picture, and I just lost it”, said Webb. It is a tragic day for 2 households: “the state police household and Mr. Johnson-Shanks’ household as properly”. Citing an ongoing criminal investigation, he did not provide details of the arrest.