(LEX 18) — The bodies of two officers who died in a shootout in southeastern Kentucky returned home Friday. Along the way, first responders from across the state paid their respects.
A tragedy, tearing at the heart of officers across the state. Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue, who leads the Kentucky Sheriff's Association, said he didn't get much sleep Thursday night. He couldn't get his mind off what happened in Allen, in Floyd County, KY.
At the time of the procession three officers were killed in the standoff, and 3 others were injured.
"My heart just dropped," Perdue said he felt when he heard the news.
The sheriff of Floyd County, John Hunt, is a personal friend of Perdue, he said.
He's received countless calls from community members, wondering what they can do to help.
"We're all battered, we're all bruised. Today, we need your thoughts and prayers," Perdue said.
The loss of any officer is unthinkable, Bourbon County Sheriff Tony Asbury said. He understands what his deputies face every day.
"It's a dangerous situation when we knock on a door, every time we know on a door," Asbury told LEX18.
In Floyd County, officers were serving a restraining order.
The general public doesn't realize they go on domestic violence calls every day, Sheriff Perdue said. The vast majority of the time, everything goes fine.
"It's always that one time that all it takes," Perdue said.
