iStock/Thinkstock(NASHVILLE, Ky.) — An off-duty police officer in Kentucky has been killed in the line of duty, according to local authorities.
The officer was driving his personal vehicle when he was pulled over just after 5 p.m. by a man pretending to be a police officer, the Hopkinsville Police Department said in a press release.
Shortly after, the suspect, 35-year-old James Kennith Decoursey, allegedly shot the officer, police said.
Decoursey then fled the scene and stole a white Chevrolet pickup truck with Kentucky license plate 2070GH, according to police.
Authorities are currently searching for Decoursey, who is said to be armed and dangerous.
Governor 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 occurred in Hopkinsville, a city in the western part of the state, ABC Nashville affiliate WKRN reported.
Further details were not immediately available.
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