A Bardstown police officer was shot and killed early Saturday while driving home from work. Kentucky State Police say they don't have any suspects as of late Saturday.
The original call came is as a traffic crash on Exit 34 of the Bluegrass Parkway in Nelson County. When troopers arrived they found that 33 year old Jason Ellis had been fatally shot. KSP says Ellis was in uniform and had been driving his cruiser home. Spokesman Norman Chaffins said the officer was found inside his vehicle but he did not know how many times he had been shot. The exit was shut down as troopers investigated the shooting near Bardstown.
Chaffins said there was no radio communication between Ellis and dispatchers in the moments before the shooting. Ellis' body was taken to Louisville for an autopsy.
Nelson County Coroner Rayfield Houghlin told the Louisville Coutier-Journal that Ellis was shot "multiple times" with a 12 gauge shotgun. Houghlin said the officer's service weapon was in its holster, suggesting the possibility of an ambush. Bardstown police didn't have an immediate comment but posted an announcement about the shooting on its Facebook page, saying, "It is with a heavy heart that we announce the loss of one of our finest officers. Officer Jason Ellis started his police career in 2006 at the Bardstown Police Deprtment. He was our K-9 officer. He was active in the community and quickly earned the respect of his peers. He served Bardstown with dignity and honor. He wore the uniform well, and he will be missed more than mere words can express."
Ellis is survived by a wife and two children.
According to the University of the Cumberlands website, Ellis was a star baseball player whe he attended the school and signed with the Cincinnati Reds minor league system, playing from 2002 to 2005. The school's biography says that since becoming an officer, Ellis has twice received the Governor's Award for Impaired Driving Enforcement and also was awarded Officer of the Year in 2008.