HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A suspect has been taken into custody following the shooting of a Hopkinsville police officer.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 28-year-old Keith Allen Kuzyk was arrested in the 2900 block of Highway 48/13 in Montgomery County. It us unclear at this time if Kuzyk is the suspect wanted for shooting the officer. Police are still searching for other possible suspects.
The Hopkinsville police officer, identified as Jeremy Davidson, is in stable condition at Skyline Medical Center. WKRN said the officer was shot in the arm and head. Hopkinsville police would not confirm the extent of his injuries at this time.
The initial investigation began when police were responding to a robbery that occurred shortly after 1 a.m. Monday at Walmart on Clinic Drive in Hopkinsville. An officer tried to stop a Dodge Ram matching the suspect description near Canton Street.
The driver fled from the officer and during the pursuit police were able to use spike strips to stop the vehicle on North Drive near Freedom Elementary School.
Shortly after that, shots were fired at the officer from the suspect’s vehicle.
The officer in the pursuit was hit and taken to Jennie Stuart Medical Center by a sheriff’s deputy.
The robbery was reported by the victim at Walmart on Clinic Drive, who told the dispatcher she was robbed by masked men armed with a gun in a dark-colored Dodge vehicle. The suspects reportedly took the woman’s Chevy Tahoe and hit her friend in the face.
Police located the Tahoe shortly after 4:15 a.m. at 1015 Sanderson Drive. According to police, an assault rifle was likely the weapon used by the suspect.
A Ford SUV that was believed to be involved in the robbery was located by Hopkinsville Police a short time after the shooting. Police pursued the vehicle to Clarksville where they lost contact with it.
Early Monday morning the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) provided assistance to the Hopkinsville Police Department and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) as they worked to locate the suspect.
The investigation led law enforcement to the River Road area in Montgomery County. At approximately 8:54 a.m. CCSO and MCSO deputies spotted the suspect driving a vehicle ((Ford SUV) near Zinc Plant Road. The deputies activated their emergency equipment in an attempt to initiate a traffic stop, but the suspect failed to stop.
He lead deputies on a pursuit through several roads in the area. When the vehicle made a final turn on Highway 48/13 to head back into town, Sergeant Derico with the MCSO used spike strips to slow the vehicle and a CCSO deputy successfully and safely used the PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique) to bring the vehicle to a stop.
The suspect was taken into custody at approximately 9:08 a.m. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital to be medically cleared before being transported to the Montgomery County Jail.
The suspect, Keith Allen Kuzyk, 28, will be charged with felony evading. His bond is $100,000.
A citizen captured cell phone video of the apprehension:
(Courtesy of Gary Smith)
Last March, an off-duty Hopkinsville police officer was fatally shot and a suspect was later killed by law enforcement officials in Clarksville.