Police: Suspect who allegedly killed off-duty officer dies in shooting
A 34-year-old man accused of shooting an off-duty officer late Thursday in Kentucky is dead after a police-involved shooting, authorities said.
The officer who was killed in the line of duty had been driving his personal vehicle when the suspect pulled him over a little after 5 p.m. while impersonating a cop, the Hopkinsville Police Department said in a statement.
Shortly thereafter, the suspect, James K. Decoursey, allegedly shot the officer and fled, police said.
Decoursey absconded on food before stealing a white Chevrolet pickup truck with Kentucky license plate 2070GH, according to police.
The officer who was shot, Phillip Meacham, was taken to Jenny Stuart Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Meacham, 38, was married and had two school-aged children. He'd been with the Hopkinsville Police Department since May of last year after 12 years at the Christian County Sheriff's Department.
Gov. Matt Bevin wrote on Twitter that there is "no greater sacrifice than that of a person willing to lay down their life for another."
The shooting of Meacham occurred in Hopkinsville, a city in the western part of the state, ABC Nashville affiliate WKRN reported.
ABC News' Ben Stein contributed to this report.
