Russell Countians, Kentuckians, and law enforcement officers across the state are mourning the death of Trooper Hayden Phillips, a Russell County native who was shot and killed during a traffic stop Monday on Interstate 65 in Warren County.
Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip “P J” Burnett Junior addressed reporters Monday night in Bowling Green following the line-of-duty death of Trooper Phillips.
Burnett said Phillips was conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 65 north of Bowling Green around two Monday afternoon when he was shot and killed.
Tennessee court records show Branch previously pleaded guilty to numerous violent offenses including aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, kidnapping and rape.
Hayden Phillips was a 2016 Russell County High School graduate and had served with the Russell Springs Fire Department, Russell County EMS and the Russell Springs and Glasgow police departments before joining KSP. He was assigned to Post 3 in Bowling Green.
More than 100 first responders and residents gathered Monday evening at the H.M. Bottom Firehouse in Russell Springs to remember him. 