Police officer dead after being shot by sheriff’s deputies in Northern Kentucky
An off-duty police officer died Friday after being shot by four deputies with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police said.
The sheriff’s office was responding to a domestic violence complaint in which shots had been fired when they encountered Dustin Zink, “who was armed, displaying a weapon while threatening both self-harm and harm to others at the scene,” state police said.
Police said deputies tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with Zink, who was with the Florence Police Department.
“During the negotiations, Mr. Zink fired his weapon multiple times, prompting four BCSO deputies to discharge their agency-issued firearms, striking the suspect,” state police said.
The shooting happened at about 9 p.m. in the 8600 block of Lely Court, WXIX in Cincinnati reported.
Officers rendered first aid to Zink at the scene. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Healthcare Edgewood Hospital, where he died.
Zink was hired as an officer with the Florence Police Department in 2017, and he had worked as a K-9 handler, according to previous Facebook posts by the department.
The department said in a statement shared by WXIX that Zink “dedicated his career to protecting our community with honor, integrity, and compassion, leaving a lasting impact on the fellow officers and the citizens he served.”
“While we cannot comment on the circumstances of this investigation, we believe one moment does not define a person,” the statement read.
The Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the shooting, as is typical in such situations.
