Father of murdered trooper to discuss heightened safety measures for KSP
FRANKFORT, KY (WAVE) - The father of recently murdered Kentucky State Police Trooper Cameron Ponder will join House Speaker Greg Stumbo on Tuesday to discuss heightened safety measures for frontline KSP troopers.
Joe Ponder and Stumbo will speak to the media at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Capitol Annex in Frankfort. Other legislators have been invited to attend.
[PREVIOUS STORY: Fallen trooper remembered as true public servant]
In a letter to the Kentucky State Police commissioner, Stumbo offered solutions to keep troopers safe in the wake of Trooper Ponder's death. Among the ideas he offered was a suggestion to provide money to retrofit state police cruisers with a bullet resistant film on windshields.
[MORE: Letter form House Speaker Greg Stumbo]
Rineyville native Cameron Ponder, 31, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in western Kentucky on Sept. 13. Ponder had pulled over 25-year-old Joseph Johnson-Shanks for a suspended license. The trooper was trying to help Johnson-Shanks and his passengers by getting them a hotel room for the night when Johnson-Shanks suddenly took off, leading Ponder on a nine-mile high-speed chase. Investigators said that when Ponder forced Johnson-Shanks' vehicle to stop, Johnson-Shanks leaned out the driver's side window and fired shots at the trooper, hitting him with bullets that penetrated the windshield.
Ponder was laid to rest at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery in Radcliff on Friday after a funeral attended by thousands of mourners from across the country.
WAVE 3 News will stream the news conference live on Tuesday on wave3.com and the free WAVE 3 News mobile app.
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