Community says goodbye to Nicholasville Police Officer

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – Police officers, first responders and the public are paying their respects to Nicholasville Officer Burke Rhoads after he died in the line of duty last week.

Hundreds of law enforcement cars from all over Kentucky could be see in the parking lot of Southland Christian Church’s Harrodsburg Road Campus on Monday.

Visitation was broken up into two times on Monday. The first visitation went from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the afternoon visitation is from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The funeral is scheduled to start at noon on Tuesday. It will also be held at Southland Christian Church.

35-year-old Rhoads was killed on Wednesday, March 11th when his Nicholasville Police car was involved in a three-car accident on U.S. 27 in Garrard County. He was on duty at the time of the crash.

Officer Rhoads was an eight year veteran of Nicholasville’s police department. He was also a member of the NPD Honor Guard, a field training officer and a member of the bike patrol. He also served in the US Army prior to becoming an officer. 

A fund to help the Rhoads’ family has been setup at the Kentucky Bank on Main Street in Nicholasville. Donations can be made by calling the bank at 859-885-6028 and telling them you want to donate to the "Officer Rhoads Memorial Fund."

Funds will go directly to Officer Rhoads’ family, the police department says.