KY state trooper injured in airport shooting is thankful for support
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Trooper Jude Remilien continues recovery after shooting during July 13 traffic stop.
- Four good Samaritans provided aid and earned recognition as Kentucky Colonels.
- Remilien credits strong community and agency support as vital to his recovery.
The Kentucky State Police trooper who suffered serious injuries last month in a shooting outside Blue Grass Airport said Thursday he is thankful for the support he’s received as he begins to recover.
The trooper, Jude Remilien, was shot by Guy House during a July 13 traffic stop on Terminal Drive. Good Samaritans provided first aid to Remilien until emergency medical service personnel arrived on the scene and likely made a difference in the outcome, officials have said.
After shooting the trooper, House went to Richmond Road Baptist Church looking for the mother of his child. He shot and killed two of her relatives and shot and injured two more. Police then shot and killed him.
Remilien was hospitalized and underwent multiple surgeries. He told the Herald-Leader on Thursday he was discharged about two weeks ago and has made significant progress in his recovery.
He plans to start physical therapy soon and is taking his recovery one day at a time.
“I’ve got great support at home,” Remilien said. “Girlfriend takes great care of me, so it’s been good.”
The support Remilien has received since the shooting has been humbling, he said. Several people visited him in the hospital, including Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope.
Remilien said state police check in with him frequently to make sure his needs are met. Restaurants have offered to provide him and his family meals, and he’s received many cards, letters and even a quilt from Oregon in the mail.
“My fellow troopers, my lieutenant, my captain, the commissioner and even the governor’s office have been so supportive,” Remilien said.
Remilien said he is especially thankful to the four good Samaritans who came to his aid after he was shot. Gov. Andy Beshear previously identified them as Jimmy Alexander, Jessica Alexander, Taylor Hall and Adam Arnold.
The Alexanders and Hall are a family, and Arnold is a police officer at Blue Grass Airport. They all were named Kentucky Colonels, the highest honor awarded by the state, during a special ceremony last month.
Beshear said they used Remilien’s radio to alert state police about the injured trooper, while Jessica Alexander and Hall, who are both nurses, applied a tourniquet to the trooper’s leg.
“Y’all saved a life,” Beshear said during the ceremony. “You jumped into action without a second thought, and you showed the world the best of Kentucky.”
Remilien said he hasn’t spoken to the Samaritans yet, but he has their contact information and plans to reach out to them.
“Within three to five minutes, they came out. They didn’t hesitate,” Remilien said. “In a hectic scene like that, they didn’t hesitate to come out and help me, and for that I am truly grateful.”
Remilien’s career history
Remilien, originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has worked with Post 12 of the state police for almost three years. He began his career in law enforcement after graduating from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
He joined the Versailles Police Department after graduating. In June 2020, he was awarded a commendation for his efforts in arresting a murder suspect from Lexington suspected of killing two people in Elizabethtown. Remilien still keeps in touch with his fellow officers from Versailles, who also have supported him as he recovers.
“With this incident, they’ve definitely stepped up and showed a great amount of support to me, even though I went to Kentucky State Police,” Remilien said.
While in Versailles, Remilien developed the dream of being a state police trooper someday. He remembered being drawn to the agency’s uniforms, which made him want to join the agency.
“I remember seeing one trooper one time and just how good the uniform looked,” Remilien said. “I’ve always been a person that thinks presentation is important, and every time I would see a trooper, I was like, ‘man, I want to be that guy.’”
Remilien enrolled in the state police training academy in June 2022, and he graduated early through the Law Enforcement Accelerated Program. The state police training academy typically lasts 24 weeks, but LEAP participants complete the training in 13 weeks.
Remilien was assigned to Post 12 Frankfort in August 2022. He still remembers his first time trying on the uniform and feeling a great sense of accomplishment for becoming a trooper.
“It was such a great feeling. It was like I was on top of the world,” Remilien said. “Getting a cruiser with a state police emblem, I was like, ‘Man, I made it.”
And now, after the recent incident, Remilien said he feels even prouder to be a Kentucky State Police trooper.
“To be at Kentucky State Police is not something that anybody would take lightly, so to be able to graduate the academy and put on this uniform and badge and represent the Kentucky State Police — it is an honor,” Remilien said.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 4:17 PM.
