Kentucky Police Capture Emonnie Branch After Trooper, 30, Is Killed on I-65

Q: What turned a routine I-65 traffic stop into the fatal shooting of Trooper Hayden Phillips, and what evidence led police to Emonnie Branch?

Authorities say the stop turned fatal when the driver or an occupant of the vehicle Trooper Hayden Phillips had pulled over opened fire during the roadside encounter on northbound I-65 in Warren County. Phillips had stopped the car around 2 p.m., and investigators have said he was shot during that traffic stop before the suspect fled. Police have not publicly explained what prompted the stop or released a fuller account of what escalated the encounter. The evidence pointing to Emonnie Branch came from the vehicle and witness information circulated immediately after the shooting. Kentucky State Police said they were searching for a bluish-gray Honda Civic tied to the shooting, carrying Alabama temporary tag TN018596, and that the car was last seen heading north on I-65. A witness who drove by the scene helped alert police, and the statewide Blue Alert identified Branch by name and description as armed and dangerous. That vehicle trail led officers across multiple counties and ultimately to Louisville, where Louisville Metro Police located the Civic near Dixie Highway and West Lee Street. Officers used a Grappler device to stop the car and arrested Branch about four hours after the shooting. State police then canceled the Blue Alert. Branch, a 51-year-old Tennessee man from Portland, is expected to face murder charges, including the killing of a first responder or peace officer.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 29

Louisville Metro Police arrested Emonnie Branch late Monday, ending a statewide manhunt after Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 65 in Warren County.
Phillips, a 30-year-old three-year veteran assigned to Post 3 in Bowling Green, was killed after what authorities described as a routine stop; investigators have not said why the vehicle was pulled over.
A Blue Alert had urged the public to watch for a bluish-gray Honda Civic with an Alabama tag that police said was present during the shooting, and the alert was canceled after Branch was taken into custody.
Branch is being charged with the murder of a first responder and will be returned to Warren County to face state murder charges, with federal authorities pledging support to local prosecutors and investigators.
Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky officials mourned Phillips as a hero and devoted father of three, while state police vowed to seek justice and support his family.