A county official says a man in custody shot a police chief to death in eastern Kentucky from the back seat of the chief's cruiser in Clay County, which is in eastern Kentucky.
Powell County Judge-Executive Darren Farmer said Police Chief Randy Lacy was shot by 27-year-old Jamie Barnett, who he had arrested shortly after 11 a.m.
State police spokesman Phil Crumpton says state police are still investigating and has no further details to release.
The chief's brother, Garland Lacy, says he learned about the shooting while listening to a police scanner. He says his brother was dead by the time he reached the scene.
Susan Puckett, a witness who knew Lacy, said "Randy always went the extra mile to help people. He's a nice man."
Lacy was the only police officer in Clay City. A search for a deputy was under way, but no other officers have been hired.
This is the second fatal shooting involving law enforcement officers in Powell County; Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe were killed while trying to arrest a man in 1992. The shooter was convicted and is now on Kentucky's death row. Visit Memorial Page