58-year-old Kenneth Copeland died on Monday after being shot multiple times by a suspect while he was serving a warrant in Central Texas
A Central Texas police officer was shot multiple times and killed in an ‘ambush-style’ attack on Monday while he was serving a warrant on a suspect.
Officer Kenneth Copeland, 58, was a 19-year veteran of the San Marcos Police Department, said Police Chief Chase Stapp at a news conference and the first time an officer from the force has been killed.
He was wearing a protective vest when he was shot but the bullets hit parts of his body that were unprotected. He died about 3:50 p.m. shortly after arriving at Central Texas Medical Center, Stapp said.
Copeland, who had been called in on his day off, was serving a warrant for a violent crime when a man opened fire on him and other officers, ‘much like in an ambush-style situation,’ Police Chief Chase Stapp said in an evening news conference.
Copeland had been called in on his day off and was serving a warrant for a violent crime when a man opened fire on him and other officers. Here he is pictured with his wife and four kids
His fellow officers put him in a patrol car and rushed him to the Central Texas Medical Center. He was pronounced dead shortly before 4 p.m.
City officials said Copeland was the first San Marcos police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
He was described him as a hard-working and well-liked member of the department and said he leaves behind a wife and four children.
‘Ken’s a hero,’ Stapp told reporters. ‘He worked just about every day off to provide for his kids and because he knows we’re shorthanded and need the help.’
‘His picture is hanging in different parts of this police department because everybody here loved him,’ he added.
Texas Govenor Greg Abbott offered his condolences to Copeland’s family and ordered the city’s flags lowered to half-staff in his honor.
‘Today we grieve for the family of the fallen San Marcos police officer, and we vow swift justice for the killer,’ Abbott said in a statement. ‘The men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to protect and to serve our communities, and we will never forget their sacrifices.
San Marcos Mayor John Thomaides called Copeland a ‘member of our family’ and asked for the city to rally around men and women in law enforcement.
‘No city is prepared for this, and we are all mourning together.’
The suspect, was holed up in a house while officers on the scene called for backup.
A crisis negotiation team arrived, and the suspect eventually surrendered and was taken into custody.
He was wounded at least once by gunfire, surrendered after a short standoff and was taken to a hospital in nearby Austin, Stapp said.
It was unclear, he said, if the wound was self-inflicted or the result of police gunfire.
Officials did not disclose the identity of the suspect nor the charge for which he was wanted.
San Marcos is about 30 miles south of Austin.
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