The man accused of killing a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in an ambush shooting was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
Kevin Salazar, 29, was arrested Monday in the deadly shooting of 30-year-old Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer. He faces criminal charges during Wednesday’s scheduled hearing in Lancaster.
Clinkunbroomer was shot and killed in his patrol vehicle as he was leaving the Palmdale Sheriff Station. The sheriff’s deputy was in uniform in a marked patrol car when he was shot near the intersection of Sierra Highway and Avenue Q at a red light.
A tipster told police they recognized the suspect car in a wanted flyer. Sources told the NBC4 I-Team the tipster thought they’d been involved in an unreported road rage incident with the same car and driver in the last week.
Sheriff’s department SWAT officers arrested Salazar at his Palmdale home Monday after an hourslong standoff.
“Our deputies gave this suspect an opportunity to peacefully give up. That is not the right that was afforded to our deputy,” an impassioned Sheriff Robert Luna said in a news conference Monday.
Salazar’s sister said her brother has schizophrenia and was not in his right mind during the alleged shooting.
“We’re not justifying that,” she said, referring to the killing. “It hurts us, and I feel for the family. I pray for them. I pray for my brother as well. It’s just two sides to the story. Just, please, don’t punish him like if he was a regular person. He’s sick.”
Clinkunbroomer was a third-generation law enforcement officer who served the department for eight years. Luna said he was a field training officer who took after his father and grandfather, who also served the force.
Luna said authorities have not determined a motive for the shooting. The sheriff also seemed unwilling to consider the idea of leniency due to Salazar’s schizophrenia.
“Whether mental health is a factor or not, think about this: if I had to go to your family and tell them that you were not coming home and you were just murdered, does it matter?” he said.
If Salazar’s schizophrenia is proven, the court will need to determine whether he is fit to stand trial, said NBC4 legal analyst Royal Oakes. If found to be competent, Oakes said his defense could pursue the argument that Salazar did not know right from wrong at the time of the murder.
“Schizophrenia can be a huge factor in a criminal case,” Oakes said. “The essence of schizophrenia is that you have no connection with reality. You see a person. You think it’s a dinosaur.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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