Tribute paid to KSP trooper killed in line of duty

Family, former coaches, classmates and a fraternity in uniform, were included in the hundreds who lit candles in memory of a Kentucky State Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder killed in the line of duty.

His stepfather said he was adamant about becoming a State Trooper after his time in the Navy.

Ponder was shot Sunday night while pursuing a man who fled from a traffic stop along a rural stretch of I-24 near Eddyville.

The candlelight vigil was held in Radcliff, the hometown of Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder.

“It’s just tragic. There just aren’t words”, said Lisa Smith, who taught Ponder in high school.

A mother’s pain so real she could barely stand.

Ponder graduated from North Hardin High School in 2002 and friends, family and fellow officers crowded onto the football field there to remember him. So far dozens of people have shown up to take part in a walk in Trooper Ponder’s honor that started at the Laurel County Courthouse and ended at KSP Post 11 in London. Ponder had been on the force less than a year. “Everything about him says what the community is doing”.

“You come out here to something like this and you actually look and see that there is the support out there and everyone’s here to support the police – especially a tragedy like this”, said LMPD Officer Bradley Jones. “There isn’t a better man he could call”, said Tiffany. His visitation will be on Thursday.