Boone County sheriff's deputies involved in fatal shooting of off-duty Florence police officer – WLWT

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office says that its deputies were involved in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Florence police officer on Friday night.
According to the sheriff’s office, the shooting occurred after deputies responded to a home for a domestic violence report in the 8600 block of Lely Court in Oakbrook. This came after multiple shots were reported to have been fired off earlier in the evening at the home.
Upon arrival to the scene, officers say that they located a man, identified as 37-year-old Dustin Zink, who displayed a weapon to officers and threatened harm both to himself and others.
Officers say that they then unsuccessfully proceeded to try to deescalate the situation. However, police say that officers eventually were forced to discharge their weapons after Zink proceeded to fire his weapon several times, causing four deputies with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office to return fire.
The sheriff’s office says that the shots from officers were fired just before 11 p.m.
After the shooting, Zink was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Florence, where he was pronounced dead.
Zink was later confirmed by the Kentucky State Police to be off-duty officer with the Florence Police Department.
The Boone County Coroner’s Office says that it was first notified about Zink’s death at the hospital around 11:40 p.m.
No officers were reported to have been injured in the incident.
In a statement issued on Saturday afternoon after his death, the Florence Police Department called Zink a dedicated officer who served his community with honor throughout his career.
“On behalf of the entire Florence Police Department, it is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of Officer Dustin Zink,” the department wrote in its statement. “Although Dustin was off duty at the time of this tragic incident, his commitment to serving others extended far beyond the uniform. He 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.”
“Today, our department is grieving alongside Officer Zink’s family, friends and loved ones,” the statement continued. “We ask our community to keep them, as well as the members of our department, in your thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.”
In 2022, the Florence Police Department posted on its Facebook page about an assignment that Zink was involved in that saw him track down a missing van in Florence. The post described Zink as a K9 officer with the department who worked on the mission with a dog named Atos.
“Recently K9 Officer Dustin Zink received a call from a resident of New York for assistance in locating her sister’s vehicle that was believed to be in the Florence area,” the department wrote in its Facebook post from April 6, 2022. “The caller advised her sister had recently passed away and she needed to find the vehicle in order to proceed in handling her sister’s estate. Officer Zink and his canine partner ‘Atos’ conducted an investigation as to the whereabouts of the van and were able to locate and return the vehicle to the caller. As a show of her appreciation of Officer Zink’s tireless effort during her time of sorrow, she sent a care package of Omaha Steaks. Please join us in thanking Officer Zink and ‘Atos’ for going above and beyond to assist someone in need.”
Kentucky State Police is now leading the investigation into the shooting, as is routine for all officer-involved shootings across Kentucky.
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