Kentucky Constable Attacked at Traffic Stop Dies
Funeral Information Below
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Courtesy of The Daily Independent
Ashland, Ky.-- A Carter County constable who was assaulted last week, allegedly by a motorist he had pulled over, has died and the man accused of beating him has been charged with murder.
Elmer Kiser, 63, of Olive Hill, died Wednesday morning in the intensive care unit at King’s Daughters Medical Center, where he had been in critical condition.
The charge against Kiser’s alleged assailant, Johnny R. Puckett, 23, of Soldier, has been upgraded to murder as a result of the constable’s death, Kentucky State Police at Ashland said Wednesday.
Puckett was arrested Friday night on a charge of first-degree assault. He remained in custody Wednesday in the Carter County Detention Center. A deputy jailer said he did not know the amount of Puckett’s bond.
Kiser was found lying unconscious on Crawford Avenue, off Ky. 2 just north of the Olive Hill city limits, the evening of Sept. 20. Minutes before he was discovered, the constable had reported that he was following a reckless driver on Ky. 174, the KSP said. He had requested backup from the Olive Hill Police Department.
Carter County 911 dispatchers subsequently received another call from a person who reported a man lying in the roadway on Crawford Avenue. Olive Hill Police Officer Bruce Palmer responded and found Kiser unconscious and injured.
Kiser had served three terms as Carter County’s District 4 constable and was unopposed for a fourth. The retired truck driver defeated challengers Jeffrey Fite and John Stamper in the May Democratic primary and did not have a Republican challenger in the November election.
Constables in Kentucky are elected from each magistrate district. They are constitutional office-holders, and, as such, they have the same county-wide law enforcement authority as sheriffs. However, their activity levels vary from county to county. In some, they work as full-fledged peace officers, while in others, their duties are mostly limited to assisting the sheriff.
Funeral Information
Funeral services for Constable Kiser are scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at Globe Funeral Chapel. Carter County Jailer Randy Binion will officiate, and Olive Hill Police Chief Bobby Hall and members of his department will serve as pallbearers.
Republished with permission of The Daily Independent.
BS Ranch Perspective:
Now based upon this Constables life, you wonder why the 3% @ 50 Retirement plan is such a good Idea, Now I don't want to use this as a stand off to make my point, but Elmer Kiser was 63, and still "on the job" running around gathering up the bad guys, however the constables work in a court room setting, they also work traffic obviously or this would not have happened. He had made a Traffic Stop, and was attacked by the Driver, Johnny R. Puckett, 23 a soldier, who thought that he could wrestle his way out of the traffic citation or DUI Arrest. Now he sits on Death Row, if Ky, has a death row. and something tells me that they do!
The whole thing boils down to this, Kiser was found laying unconscious next to his car, and only minutes before he was on the radio reporting that he was following a possible reckless. It was then that he requested a Back up Officer to respond to his location, and well a short time later a citizen passerby reported seeing the constable laying on the ground next to his car. I had not known this but the Constable is an elected position, and Kiser was Carter County's 3 term Constable & was running unopposed for his fourth term. So he had to have been well liked in the area. Constables depending upon the County in which they are elected depends upon what kind of power they have, some just assist the Sheriff, and others have full Law Enforcement Power, throughout the county in which they serve. Now he doesn't have a forth term except in heaven and he will do a great job. Unfortunately the guy that Killed him will comment that he is a conscience objector, to the war and this was his way of getting out of going back to Iraq, he will try to Appeal to the court and get off with a super light sentence. I feel that they had better think long and hard on this . he was a public Servant and willing to serve another term to the County in which he loved. I feel for his family and hope that they will be able to get past this. Pray pray & more pray. God is the answer to the loss of Constable Elmer Kiser, 63 of Carter County!!
BS Ranch
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