Person of interest detained in death of newly engaged sheriff’s deputy who was ‘ambushed’ while sitting in patrol car at red light
Posted for: Hauviette
A person of interest has been detained in connection with the ambush killing of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office deputy, officials announced.
Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was shot while sitting in his patrol car in Palmdale, California, on Saturday evening, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a press announcement on Sunday.
The LASD denied reports to Law&Crime that an arrest had been made in the case.
“At this point we have a person of interest detained but no arrest has been made,” an LASD spokesperson told Law&Crime on Monday. A press conference was planned for 10:30 a.m. local time.
Clinkunbroomer, an eight-year veteran of the LASD, was “ambushed” at around 6:00 p.m. during what the department describes as “routine patrol duties.”
“He was in full uniform, driving a marked patrol vehicle, and had just left the Palmdale Station, heading northbound on Sierra Highway,” the press release says. “Deputy Clinkunbroomer was alone in his vehicle when he stopped at the intersection of Sierra Highway and Avenue Q in Palmdale. Shortly thereafter, a Good Samaritan discovered him unconscious in his vehicle and promptly alerted Palmdale Station personnel.”
Clinkunbroomer was rushed to an area hospital, “where dedicated medical staff made every effort to treat a gunshot wound he had sustained,” the press release says. “Tragically, he succumbed to his injuries.”
On Sunday, the LASD and Crime Stoppers released a poster offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the killing. The poster identified a 2006-2012 dark gray Toyota Corrola as a “vehicle of interest.”
According to reports, surveillance footage shows the vehicle driving next to the patrol car and speeding away.
At a press conference on Sunday, Sheriff Robert Luna asked the public for help in identifying the vehicle, and referred to the perpetrators as “cowards.”
“I’m going to continuously refer to them as cowards because that’s what they are, cowards, to attack a deputy sheriff in uniform in a black and white who is just sitting there at a red light about to out there and serve our community,” Luna said.
Luna also noted that Clinkunbroomer had gotten engaged just four days earlier.
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