Suspect in Kentucky officer’s killing is shot dead in Tennessee
A man suspected of fatally shooting an off-duty police officer in a small Kentucky city has been killed by law enforcement officials in Tennessee.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Rob Austin said in a statement Friday that 34-year-old James K. Decoursey of Hopkinsville “had a brief encounter with law enforcement” officials in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he “was shot and died from his injuries.”
Kentucky State police say Decoursey shot and killed 38-year-old Hopkinsville officer Phillip Meacham Thursday afternoon, then fled on foot before taking off in a pickup.
Meacham, who was married and had two school-age children, had been with the Hopkinsville department since May 2017. Before that he worked for about 14 years with the Christian County Sheriff’s Department.
Hopkinsville is about 73 miles northwest of Nashville.
UPDATES:
4:20 a.m.: Updated with the suspect’s death.
This article was first published at 3 a.m.
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