FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — More than three months after a gunman shot a Kentucky State Police trooper near Blue Grass Airport and later opened fire in a church across town, state police have released body camera footage showing what happened leading up to the first shooting.
The footage shows a routine traffic stop that could have turned deadly. It shows Trooper Jude Remilien pulling the vehicle over, asking the driver to put his hands on the steering wheel, and asking the passenger for ID. Not long after, the passenger - who police say was Guy House - opened fire and eventually took off with the car without the initial driver. Body camera footage shows several gunshots and Remilien getting hit in the leg. Then, he runs for cover to a nearby grassy field near the airport.
Watch that footage here:
Police say House later went across town and opened fire at Richmond Road Baptist Church. The body camera video shows the wounded trooper calling for help.
"I'm bleeding," Remilien can be heard saying in the footage. "Shot in the leg."
The video appeared difficult to watch for Remilien, who rubbed his face several times before he was comforted by another trooper. However, the footage also captures the heroic actions of good Samaritans who jumped in to save Remilien's life. On Wednesday, those heroes were honored and reunited with the man they helped save.
The footage shows the trooper was not alone for long. Jessica Alexander and Taylor Hall, both nurses, applied pressure to the trooper's wound. Jimmy Alexander used belts as a makeshift tourniquet, all while they made sure the trooper stayed awake.
Jimmy Alexander said they did what they hope everyone else would do in a similar situation.
"If that was my son or me, I would want someone to do the same thing. That's just how I was raised - always taking care of other people. Not really thinking twice about should I or not. It's just what we should do as human beings when we see somebody else struggling in a situation like that," Alexander said.
The family and an officer from the Blue Grass Airport Police, Adam Arnold, were honored with citations of meritorious achievement, the highest award given to civilians by state police.
While the recognition was meaningful, Jimmy Alexander says seeing Trooper Remilien this far in his recovery was the best gift of all.
"I just feel, in my heart, better - seeing him up, walking and everything," Alexander said.
It was an emotional moment for everyone involved, with the trooper expressing his gratitude to those who saved his life.
"Thank you," Remilien whispered as he hugged the family.
