‘Person of interest’ detained in ambush-style slaying of LA County sheriff’s deputy
A “person of interest” has been detained in the weekend ambush-style shooting death of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said early Monday.
What led authorities to detain the person, whose identity was not released, was not immediately known. More details were to be provided by Sheriff Robert Luna at a 10:30 a.m. news conference, officials said.
On Sunday, rewards totaling $250,000 were announced for critical information in the ambush slaying of tDeputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, who was shot in his patrol car in front of the department’s Palmdale station on Saturday evening.
With a manhunt underway, Luna also said detectives were seeking a “vehicle of interest” – a dark gray, 2006-2012 Toyota Corolla that pulled up alongside Clinkunbroomer’s patrol car at Sierra Highway and East Avenue Q, then sped off. Investigators are hoping someone who was nearby might have captured a key piece of information on a cell phone.
“Please, I beg you, somebody has information. Please make things right,” Luna implored the public at a late afternoon news conference on Sunday. “Check your cameras.”
Luna vowed emphatically that those responsible would be apprehended and held responsible for the slaying. “We will use every resource that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has,” he said. “Whoever did this we are going to find you. Every resource is going to be looking for you.”
Said Luna, “Ryan wasn’t only a deputy sheriff for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He was a son. He was a grandson. He had just been engaged four days ago. He has so much ahead of him … And this coward, or cowards, took his life while he was sitting at a red light waiting to serve our community.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she will ask the supervisors to approve a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of a suspect or suspects involved in the homicide. The city of Palmdale intends to match that, Laura Bettencourt, the mayor, said. The Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs will add $50,000.
“It was an unprovoked attack on an honorable public servant,” Barger said. “An attack on the law enforcement community at large, as well.”
Richard Pippin, the association president, added, “We are left reeling from this incomprehensible tragedy. I assure you that every law enforcement officer in the region is focused on relentlessly pursuing these criminals until justice is served.”
A candlelight vigil was held at 7 p.m. Sunday outside the Palmdale Sheriff’s station. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered flags at the state Capitol to be flown at half-staff.
Luna announced Clinkunbroomer’s death during a news conference Saturday night, saying his father and grandfather had also been deputies and that the veteran deputy had become engaged just four days earlier.
“He didn’t deserve this,” Luna said “This is so unfair. We’re hurting because we lost somebody. It hurts bad. It sucks, just to put it bluntly. Our hearts absolutely go out to his family.”
Luna struggled to hold back his emotions while discussing what he described as a targeted ambush killing.
“He was just driving down the street,” Luna said. “And for no apparent reason — and we’re still looking into the specific reasons —somebody decided to shoot and murder him, I’m assuming at this point, because he was in uniform. That, to me, is sickening. That’s not who this community is and that’s why we stand up here collectively together really asking our community for your assistance as we move forward.”
Clinkunbroomer, 30, was “found in medical distress” in front of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station at about 6 p.m. Saturday when a Good Samaritan stopped to render aid.
“Thank god for this Good Samaritan,” Luna said, “somebody (who) chose not to just drive by.”
The wounded deputy was transported to Antelope Valley Medical Center in grave condition.
Clinkunbroomer was stopped in a patrol car at a red light when he was shot. He was found in front of the station with a gunshot wound to the head.
Video from the scene showed a vehicle drive up behind the patrol car, then pull alongside momentarily before speeding away.
It was unclear whether this was the suspect, the Good Samaritan or someone else.
Shortly after 11 p.m., the department announced Clinkunbroomer had died.
“I want to let to our community know Deputy Clinkunbroomer left his family tonight to serve our community,” Luna said. “He laid everything on the line to serve us. He wore a uniform just like other @LASDHQ deputies wear, driving in a police car, and he was senselessly murdered tonight.
“From everything I know about Ryan, people absolutely loved and adored him. He wasn’t just one of our Deputy Sheriffs. He was a third-generation deputy. His father and grandfather served with us. Service was running through his veins. He embodied the values of bravery, selflessness and was committed to justice. Our deputy was a devoted family member and a cherished community member. He was cowardly shot while working tirelessly to serve our community this evening.
“Our hearts go out to his family. We cannot fully understand their pain, but we will stand with them in solidarity and support them during this difficult time. They deserve unwavering compassion, and we will do everything in our power to provide them with assistance and care.”
Luna said Clinkunbroomer was an eight-year veteran of the department and had been with the Palmdale station since July 2018. He served as a field training officer, which Luna said is a role reserved for only “the best of the best.”
@FOXLA Video of LASD Sheriff’s deputy ambushed at traffic light outside of Palmdale station. LASD says he was shot in back of the head. Tune in for Sheriff Luna, about to speak here at hospital at 11:15pm. @LASDHQ Our thoughts and prayers are with his family pic.twitter.com/08Pb1Zth9w
— Hailey Winslow (@HaileyBWinslow) September 17, 2023
Last week, Clinkunbroomer’s mother, Kim Etzel Clinkunbroomer, posted several photos of her son and his fiancé on Instagram with the message: “We are so excited to add to our family. Congrats to our son Ryan and his fiancé Brittany.”
During an overnight procession, law enforcement officers escorted Clinkunbroomer’s body to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn was among those posting on social media in the hours after Clinkunbroomer’s shooting and death.
“The shooting of a @LASDHQ deputy in his patrol car in Palmdale today is senseless and horrific,” Hahn tweeted Saturday. “Tonight I’m praying for him, his friends, fellow deputies at @PalmdaleSheriff, and especially his loved ones.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Acting Gov. Eleni Kounalakis put out a joint statement, saying, “On behalf of all Californians, we mourn the horrific, unconscionable, and shocking loss of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer — a third-generation law enforcement officer whose commitment to service and justice represented the best of the Golden State.
“Selflessly serving his community, Deputy Clinkunbroomer followed in the steps of his father and grandfather — entrenching a lasting legacy that forever stands tall.”
Many law enforcement agencies and government leaders took to social media to offer their condolences.
The last Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed in the line of duty was Sgt. Steve Owen, 53, a 29-year department veteran who worked out of the Lancaster station and was shot while investigating a reported break-in on Oct. 5, 2016.
Deputy Alejandro Martinez died on July 28, several months after he was struck by a wrong-way vehicle while training with dozens of colleagues near the sheriff’s STARS Explorer Academy law enforcement training center in Whittier in November 2022. The driver, 22-year-old Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez of Diamond Bar, told reporters that he fell asleep at the wheel.
Deputy Steve Belanger died on Feb. 6, 2018, succumbing to a gunshot wound sustained on Dec. 10, 1994, when he was ambushed while conducting a traffic stop in the 18400 block of La Guardia Street in Rowland Heights. Doctors were unable to remove the bullet from Belanger’s brain, and he remained under constant medical care and confined to a wheelchair until passing away in 2018.
Anybody who witnessed anything related to the shooting around 6 p.m. Saturday is urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).