FAYETTE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Kentucky State Police trooper is recovering after being shot during a traffic stop that preceded Sunday's deadly church shooting in rural Lexington.
Trooper Jude Remilien was shot by Guy House during a traffic stop on Terminal Drive near the Blue Grass Airport.
Before Remilien swore an oath to serve for Kentucky State Police, he was stationed as an officer with Versailles Police Department.
"He has compassion at heart and that's what a good officer has to have," said Floyd Raglin, an Army veteran and former Versailles police officer.
While Raglin didn't work with Remilien, he got to know the officer well through their shared hobby of landscaping.
"He's like a son to me," Raglin said. "He calls me pops, so I'm kind of his adopted dad."
Raglin found out Remilien was shot when he was going to the Veteran's Affairs office. That's when he saw Versailles and State Police cruisers taking over UK Hospital's parking lot.
"I still didn't know for sure it was Jude, but in the back of your heart you did," Raglin said. "Of course I'd be worrying about any officer, but definitely someone you know, and you get close to," he said.
Remilien has been serving with KSP since 2022.
During his time with Versailles PD, he was honored with a certificate of commendation. Former Versailles Police Chief Mike Murray says then-Officer Remilien recognized and confronted a double-murder suspect. After a short foot chase, the suspect was taken into custody.
"You know, he's not gonna run away from the fight, you know, he's gonna be there to assist," Murray said.
While the trooper is still recovering from a gunshot wound, Raglin says that the man he "loves like a son" is lucky to be alive.
"You know that perp could've came by and really finished him off. I mean he's down. I mean he was defenseless," Raglin said.
