Chief Randy Lacy Shot and Killed on Duty

**Aegis** · 06-13-07, 03:45 PM

Heard this on the news while I was on shift today. This is another tragic reminder that we can't ever risk trusting a suspect.

Chief Lacy was on duty in Clay City KY, and had made an arrest. The suspect shot Chief Lacy in the head as he was being transported to the jail. The suspect is currently in custody.

My heart goes out to his family. I hope the perpetrator gets the needle.

Story is here.

**smokey703** · 06-13-07, 03:47 PM

Rest easy Brother.

**rob84** · 06-13-07, 03:49 PM

RIP sir, thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. They need to bring back hangings. Or maybe even the firing squad, piece of shit!

**Ducky** · 06-13-07, 03:49 PM

RIP

**snuffy2202** · 06-13-07, 03:52 PM

May the Chief Rest in Peace. May the suspect never rest.

"He said Randy Lacy treated people with respect, and a lot of times he wouldn’t handcuff them."

ALWAYS, ALWAYS HANDCUFF PRISONERS. Even though I now work for a relatively peaceful town, I always cuff. My partner didn't cuff the other night on a warrant. DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!

**Buttercup** · 06-13-07, 04:08 PM

RIP

**Willowdared** · 06-13-07, 05:17 PM

Thoughts and prayers enroute.

**Jenna** · 06-13-07, 05:21 PM

Rest in peace.

**cidp24a** · 06-13-07, 06:14 PM

My prayers got out to the family. I am sorry for their loss.

**kjlaw** · 06-13-07, 08:29 PM

RIP Chief and my thoughts and prayers to the family friends and people served by Chief Lacy.

Rest easy brother

**OffDuty** · 06-13-07, 09:11 PM

RIP. And read the text here and learn something from it:

Ky. police chief shot to death
By JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press Writer

CLAY CITY, Ky. --
A trusting, small-town police chief - the city's only officer - was fatally shot Wednesday after he cuffed a suspect's hands in the front instead of the back, authorities said.

In most circumstances, officers cuff in the back to restrict mobility. But cuffing in the front was a practice that Chief Randy Lacy, 55, often used when arresting people he knew, said Greg Adams, a Powell County sheriff's deputy. The suspect, who had been stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence, had a long criminal history, records show.

It wasn't clear how the suspect accessed a gun. But Lacy kept an extra gun in his cruiser between the front seat and the console, Adams said. State police spokesman Phil Crumpton would not confirm that.

"Randy was a good officer," Adams said. "He did trust people a little too much."

A county judge-executive said earlier that Lacy was shot from the back seat of his cruiser, but authorities did not confirm that.

Charges were pending against Jamie Barnett, 37, state police spokesman Phil Crumpton said. It wasn't clear whether the suspect had a lawyer.

Lacy had been police chief of this town of 1,300 in the Appalachian foothills since 2004. He began serving in law enforcement in 1985.

"He was respected by all the police officers, and he was even loved by the people he was putting in jail," said the victim's brother Garland Lacy, a court bailiff and sheriff's chaplain.

Lacy would sometimes stop and buy suspects snacks or cigarettes before taking them to jail, Adams said.

He was the only law officer for the town, which was looking to fill two vacancies.

Barnett has a long criminal history, according to records from the Powell County Circuit Court Clerk's office.

He was charged with assaulting a police officer in 1994, according to the records. In April, he was charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident and disorderly conduct, court records said. Records also show the April 9 drunken driving arrest was his second such offense.

Lacy's death upset people throughout the town, said Brenda Patrick, whose mother used to live next door to the chief.

"Everybody's shocked by it. The town sort of went wild today, I think," she said in a phone interview. "It's like a blanket of sorrow spread over the neighborhood."

(This version CORRECTS attribution in second paragraph to Adams, not Crumpton.)

**spd110** · 06-13-07, 11:02 PM

RIP. Another tragic event to learn from. Take the time to 'cuff, search, and secure those in custody.

**MemphisCop** · 06-14-07, 12:31 AM

After reading this, I am immediately sorrowed, and my prayers are with the family of the Chief. It does, however, bring back the memory of the incident in Tampa, Florida, a few years back. If some of you can remember, Tampa Police detectives handcuffed a prisoner in front, and ended up shot and killed. The scrote then proceeded to shoot a FHP Trooper with very little time on at an interstate exit before killing his own sorry ass. NEVER NEVER handcuff ANYONE with their hands in the front. NO EXCEPTIONS.
We're too short handed, too under appreciated, not respected by thugs, and who cares what the bad guys think while being transported to jail? I'm going home at the end of MY shift, and don't give a damn about the moron in my back seat who's not. He/she put themselves in that situation, not me.

**10-42Adam** · 06-14-07, 01:52 AM

RIP

**PCSD722** · 06-15-07, 09:13 AM

I heard something on the news yesterday about a Police Chief killed in eastern KY by someone he was arresting for DUI. I just briefly caught it. Anyone hear anything about it?

PCSD722

Kevin

**iso607** · 06-15-07, 09:21 AM

CLAY CITY — A police chief killed in his cruiser was shot point-blank in the back of his head with a single bullet fired from his own gun, the coroner said Thursday.

The bullet was fired from the back seat and passed through a wire and hard plastic barrier before hitting the chief, Powell County Coroner Carl Wells said.

Clay City Police Chief Randy Lacy was killed Wednesday morning while driving a man he had arrested on a charge of driving under the influence. The car traveled another 350 feet before colliding with a stop sign and rolling into a ditch.

Investigators were trying to determine how suspect Jamie Barnett got the weapon. Lacy usually carried two guns with him.

"That's kind of a mystery to us," Wells said.

Deputy Greg Adams said Lacy often kept a second gun between the seat and console in the front. He speculated that the extra gun could have slipped to the back, but Kentucky State Police officials handling the investigation wouldn't comment on that theory.

Lacy, the only officer in this small eastern Kentucky town, was remembered as being tough on the drug epidemic but compassionate to the criminals, many of whom he helped put behind bars.

State Police have said Lacy cuffed Barnett's hands in front rather than behind the suspect's back, as he did if he was familiar with a suspect. Barnett had a long criminal record and Lacy knew him well.

He has been charged with murder in Lacy's death and arraignment was scheduled for Friday.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher directed that flags at all state office buildings remain at half-staff in honor of Lacy until sunset on the day of his funeral. The service was scheduled for Sunday at the Powell County High School gym.

Rest in peace brother.