The father of a slain Kentucky State trooper has urged state lawmakers to retrofit the fleet of patrol cars with bullet resistant glass.
Cameron Ponder was shot and killed in his patrol car last week following a high speed chase in western Kentucky. The shooter, Joseph Johnson-Shanks, was later shot and killed after officials said he raised his weapon at another state trooper and ignored orders to lower it.
Joe Ponder, Cameron Ponder's father, told reporters Tuesday he believed his son would still be alive had his patrol car been outfitted with bullet resistant glass. Kentucky Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo pledged to find money in the upcoming budget to retrofit all of the Kentucky State Police's 600 front line patrol cars.
Stumbo said he hoped the program could also be extended to other law enforcement agencies.