Riverside County Deputy Darnell Calhoun (right) poses with Sheriff Chad Biano in an undated photo. Calhoun was shot and killed Friday, just two weeks after another deputy in the department was killed in the line of duty.
Riverside County Sheriff via AP
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Riverside County Sheriff via AP
Riverside County Deputy Darnell Calhoun (right) poses with Sheriff Chad Biano in an undated photo. Calhoun was shot and killed Friday, just two weeks after another deputy in the department was killed in the line of duty.
Riverside County Sheriff via AP
LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. – A Southern California deputy sheriff was shot dead Friday, just two weeks after another deputy in the department was killed in the line of duty.
Sheriff Chad Bianco said the deaths of deputies Darnell Calhoun Friday and Isaiah Cordero on December 29 were the first since 2003 when a Riverside County deputy sheriff was killed in the line of duty. service.
Bianco said Friday at a news conference that the suspect in Calhoun’s death is in custody and listed in critical condition following a gunfight with a second deputy.
Calhoun was shot dead in Lake Elsinore, the sheriff said. He died after being taken to the hospital in serious condition.
“I shouldn’t be here tonight to do this again,” Bianco said Friday outside the hospital. “I am deeply saddened to talk about the loss of another of our deputy sheriffs, who died in the line of duty today.”
Bianco said Calhoun was survived by his pregnant wife. He previously worked for the San Diego Police Department — the agency said on Twitter it was “devastated” to learn of his death — before moving to Riverside last year.
“He was the funniest, most positive, kindest man you can imagine,” Bianco said.
Calhoun, 30, was the first officer to arrive at the scene of the riot around 4:30 p.m. Friday after receiving a call about an “unknown incident,” in which voices could be heard in the distance. later, indicating a struggle, Bianco said.
“At this point, we are not entirely sure of the circumstances surrounding the initial contact,” Bianco said.
The second lieutenant finds Calhoun wounded in the street and confronts the suspect in a gunfight. The suspect’s identity has not been released.
Lake Elsinore is about 55 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Friday’s shooting occurred as the sheriff’s department was reeling from Cordero’s death. The 32-year-old was shot dead last month while stopping traffic in the city of Jurupa Valley, east of Los Angeles.
Cordero pulled over to a pickup and the driver, William Shae McKay, 44, shot the deputy as he approached the vehicle. Law enforcement pursued McKay in a manhunt that included a chase along the freeway in two counties, authorities said.
McKay was killed in a shootout with his deputies after the truck hit.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Cordero’s family have called for the resignation of a Southern California judge who allowed McKay to be released on bail despite his extensive criminal history.
The sheriff said McKay was found guilty of “third assault” in 2021, which should have sent him to state prison from 25 years to life, but the judge lowered his bail. , allowing him to be released and then releasing him after an arrest for failing to appear at his sentencing.
