By Corey Bennett
On Saturday, while on patrol in Palmdale, a Los Angeles County Sheriff officer was shot in his patrol car. The sheriff’s office made a statement, saying “At approximately 6 p.m., an LASD Palmdale Deputy was found in medical distress in front of Palmdale Sheriff Station.”
The officer, Ryan Clinkunbroomer, was only 30 years old.
Clinkunbroomer was discovered in his car unconscious, in full uniform, working in his patrol car when he was discovered by a good samaritan. They immediately reported it to the Palmdale station personnel. Clinkunbroomer was then transported to the nearest hospital, where he was treated for his gunshot wound, but unfortunately, he later died from his injuries.
The sheriff’s station cameras caught the incident and found a dark-gray 2006-2012 Toyota Corolla that was labeled as a “vehicle of interest” after it was seen near Clinkunbroomer’s car at the time of the incident.
The shooter was identified as Cataneo Salazar and surrendered after chemical agents were deployed to his home on Monday.
The sheriff described Salazar as being a “coward” by taking Clinkunbroomer’s life while he was “sitting at a red light, waiting to serve our community.”
“Our deputy left this station in uniform to serve. And he was shot and killed. Why? We don’t know yet. But we intend to find out,” the sheriff says. They would like to thank everyone for their support and help in providing information to get the justice that Clinkunbroomer deserves.
“Our officers and our deputies go out and serve this community every day, putting their lives on the line. So we have a lot to be thankful for—that we have men and women who volunteered to do this and families who kiss them goodbye and just pray that they come back home. And in this case, Ryan’s family will never see him again.”
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