Cincinnati Officer Killed By Man Executing Plan To Commit Suicide By Cop

A Cincinnati cop was killed Friday morning while responding to a 911 call.

48-year-old Sonny Kim was a decorated cop in Cincinnati. He was a part of the force for 27 years and has received 22 commendations since his start. He was married with three sons and, in his spare time, was a karate instructor. He was a sixth-degree black belt.

Kim was wearing his body armor when he was shot and killed in the line of duty.

The decorated Cincinnati cop was a first responder to a 911 call made by Trepierre Hummons.

Hummons, 21, called the emergency line in order to place a complaint on himself, pretending to be a concerned witness.

“He’s walking around getting belligerent with a gun,” Hummons voice explained on the 911 tapes released by Cincinnati police. “Very early 20s… about like 5’6″… he’s a little thick fellow.”

The suspect called 911 back a little while later to ensure there was a cop on the way. When the dispatcher checked with police officers, she received a confirmation followed almost immediately by a “shots fired!”

Officer Kim was still alive when a probation officer arrived on scene, but Hummons began shooting at him and the cops that followed.

A cop on the scene was able to return fire and wound the suspect.

“We’re not sure which [cop] involved actually fired rounds. We’re not sure how many rounds were fired. We just know that multiple shots were fired between the suspect and responding officers,” explained Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, before the announcement that Officer Kim was killed in the gun fight.

Trepierre Hummons made his desire to commit suicide by cop known to his family and friends before the terrible incident.

On Facebook, he posted a vague goodbye message, “I love every last one of y’all to whoever has been in my life…. You’re the real mvp”

The real warning, however, came in the form of text messages sent to some of the people he cared about. The messages explained his plan to commit suicide by cop, but none of the recipients notified anyone until after-the-fact.

“That didn’t happen in this case, unfortunately,” Blackwell said in reference to his wish that someone had come forward with the threat, “and we lost one of our best police officers.”

Officer Kim is the first cop killed in the line of duty in Cincinnati since 2000.

Mayor John Cranley offered a statement.

“Today is a tragic day for all [Cincinnati residents]. One of our first responders was shot and killed in the line of duty. We will always remember the sacrifice made by Officer Sonny Kim, and we will pray for his wife and family that they find some comfort during their grief.”

[Images courtesy of Facebook]