LOUISVILLE, KY — A Tennessee man accused of fatally shooting Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips was arrested Monday evening in Louisville after a police pursuit ended in a crash. The arrest came after officers from multiple agencies tracked the suspect nearly 100 miles from the Warren County traffic stop where Phillips was killed.
Louisville Metro Police said the man, identified as 51-year-old Emonnie Branch, was wanted in connection with the killing of Phillips during a traffic stop on Interstate 65. Witnesses in Louisville described a fast-moving and confusing scene as officers converged on the Park Hill neighborhood and moved in to take Branch into custody.
Traffic stop on Interstate 65 ended in the death of Trooper Hayden Phillips
Authorities said the case began earlier in Warren County when Phillips was shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 65. Phillips was 28 years old. Police have said Branch is accused of fatally shooting the trooper before escaping, triggering a search that spread beyond the county where the encounter happened.
The arrest in Louisville came after that manhunt crossed local lines and drew support from several law-enforcement agencies. Louisville Metro Police, Kentucky State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked together to locate Branch and bring the pursuit to an end.
Officials said Branch is a Tennessee resident. After his arrest, he was taken back to Warren County to face charges tied to Phillips’ death.
Witnesses in Park Hill saw a hectic police response
People in the Park Hill neighborhood said they saw a large police response unfold quickly on Monday evening. Stefon Sands said he was on Dixie Highway when he noticed officers chasing a car and then saw police vehicles “just start crashing the scene.”
Sands said he later learned the search was for the man accused of killing a state trooper. He said he had no idea the vehicle being pursued was connected to that case until officers surrounded the area.
“Chaotic. Very chaotic. Very chaotic,” Sands said, describing how the event looked from the street. He said the scale of the response made it clear something serious was unfolding, even before he understood who police were after.
The chase ended when the Honda Civic hit a building
Police said the vehicle Branch was being sought in, a Honda Civic, crashed into the side of a building before officers arrested him. That impact marked the end of the pursuit in Louisville and brought the search to a close after officers had followed the suspect into the city.
Witnesses said the crash and arrest happened in quick succession, with police cars flooding the scene moments before Branch was taken into custody. Sands said he was shocked that the search for someone wanted in Warren County ended in his neighborhood.
He said he would not have expected the man accused in the trooper shooting to be found in Louisville, adding that the alert had initially suggested a case tied to another part of Kentucky.
Louisville arrest was nearly 100 miles from the original shooting scene
The distance between the Warren County traffic stop and the Louisville arrest underscored how far Branch traveled before police caught up with him. Louisville is roughly 100 miles from the area where Phillips was killed, making the capture a regional effort rather than a local response limited to one department.
Police said the cooperation between Louisville Metro Police, Kentucky State Police, and ATF helped bring the search to a close. The agencies have not publicly detailed every step of the pursuit, but they said the arrest happened Monday evening after the vehicle was located in Louisville.
For residents who watched the chase unfold, the situation was unexpected and intense. Sands said the experience left him surprised that a man wanted in a trooper’s killing had ended up in his neighborhood at all.
What police have said about Branch and the charges ahead
Branch is facing murder charges in the death of Trooper Phillips, according to police. He is a 51-year-old Tennessee man, and authorities said he was taken back to Warren County after the Louisville arrest.
Phillips’ death has drawn attention across Kentucky because it happened during a routine traffic stop that turned deadly. Police have not released additional details in the Louisville arrest account about the exact sequence of events leading to the shooting, beyond saying the stop took place on Interstate 65.
The case now moves back to Warren County, where the charges will be handled. For now, police say the suspect is in custody and the search that stretched from the site of the shooting to Louisville has ended.
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