Man charged with attempted murder of police officer

HAZARD, Ky. (WTVQ)- Police in Hazard arrested a man they say tried to kill an off-duty police officer.

Police say Officer Johnny Begley was shopping at Tractor Supply when he saw a man leave the store without paying for his items.

Officer Begley notified an employee, then went outside to stop the man. Officer Begley says he told the man he was law enforcement, to which the man said: “You’re not taking me anywhere”.

Investigators say that’s when things turned violent.

Police say while Officer Begley was trying to detain the man, the man reached into his truck and grabbed a knife.

In a struggle, Begley got the knife away from the man. That is when police say the man tried to reach for a sawed-off shotgun. However, Begley was able to hold the man until officers arrived.

Police identified the man as 45-year old Allen Combs.

Investigators say Combs is a felon and the license plate on his truck was reported stolen on Tuesday.

Inside the truck, officers say they found stolen merchandise from two other businesses. They also say they found the barrel that had been sawed off of the shotgun.

Combs was taken to the Kentucky River Regional Jail. He faces several charges including robbery and attempted murder of a police officer.

Officer Begley received minor injuries in the scuffle.