A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was shot dead in his patrol car by an unknown assailant. Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was on duty Saturday night when he was found unconscious in his vehicle by a civilian near the sheriff's station in Palmdale. The civilian called police, and the deputy was transported to a hospital. Despite efforts from medical staff, Clinkunbroomer died at the hospital, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, Scripps News reports. Police are seeking the suspect. "We really need your help. We need to get this guy off the street — guy or guys," Luna said. "He's a public safety threat. He ambushed and killed — murdered — one of our deputies. We need your help to get him off the street." A "person of interest" was detained in the case, a sheriff's spokesman said Monday, the Associated Press reports.
Luna said the incident may have been captured on surveillance video, and that homicide investigators are working to connect the video to the crime. Luna asked that anyone who may have additional video contact authorities. The sheriff said the deputy appears to have been targeted. "I think it was a targeted act, based on what we know now," Luna said. "But we're still in the extremely early stages of this investigation." Clinkunbroomer was transferred to the Palmdale sheriff's station in 2018, where he served as a field training officer. Luna said "only the best of the best" become field training officers. Clinkunbroomer had been engaged just days before his death.
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