Shooting kills Kentucky trooper on force less than a year

A Missouri man who shot and killed a Kentucky state trooper during a traffic stop Sunday was an apparent Black Lives Matter sympathizer who protested in the days after the shooting death of Michael Brown previous year and attended the 18-year-old’s funeral, social media posts show.

The suspect stopped abruptly at the 49 mile marker, causing a collision between the suspect’s vehicle and Ponder’s cruiser.

Ponder was pronounced dead at a Princeton, Ky., hospital, according to Fox News.

Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks was found in a remote area near Interstate 24 In Kentucky Monday morning after an all-night manhunt. The officer died later at a hospital.

Trooper Ponder started working for Kentucky State Police in January.

State police said several law enforcement agencies, as well as helicopters and dogs, were used to help with search efforts.

A Kentucky state trooper died from gunshot wounds suffered during a chase on Sunday and the man suspected of firing the shots was hunted down and killed on Monday by a special response team.

Shanks was taken by ambulance to Caldwell Medical Center, where he died at 8:23 a.m.

Trooper Ponder was a U.S. Navy veteran and native of Rineyville, Ky.

Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder, 31, had stopped for speeding a auto driven by 25-year-old Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks and learned the driver’s license was suspended.

“Shanks was armed with a firearm”, said Thomas. He also said its possible Ponder tried to move his auto once the shooting began.

One of the women and both children have since been released, Thomas said, noting that their names have been withheld because they are not facing charges. Ponder and Chrisman were in the same KSP Academy class.

Troopers have closed all lanes of I-24 between the 45 and 56 mile markers while they search for a suspect who fled the scene. The suspect then fired at Ponder’s auto , hitting the trooper several times.

In a statement released earlier Monday, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said he was “deeply saddened” by the killing.

Police believe Johnson-Shanks killed 31-year-old trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder.