A California sheriff’s deputy was arrested and charged on Friday with felony vandalism and falsely reporting a crime for allegedly staging a “shocking ambush,” according to the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office.
A year ago, a gennaio 31, 2020, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sukhdeep Gill reported that “he was shot from a passing car as he stood on a dark rural road,” secondo a news release from the district attorney’s office.
Quando gli ufficiali hanno risposto, no serious injuries were found on Gill and it appeared that he had been shot only once on his body camera, which was destroyed, ha detto il comunicato. Gill’s report triggered a manhunt for the alleged shooter, secondo il comunicato.
Gill told officers that “he had parked on the dirt shoulder to urinate during a routine patrol. While walking back towards the driver side of his patrol car he was shot at by the passenger in a silver sedan that had turned off its lights as it approached him.”
An investigation found evidence that “exposed serious discrepancies in the deputy’s account,” ha detto il comunicato. Gill was arrested Friday after a warrant was issued and charged with felony vandalism and falsely reporting a crime, un reato, gli stati di rilascio.
Gill, 27, had been placed on administrative leave pending criminal and administrative investigations, according to the sheriff’s office.
Gill’s attorney, Nicole Pifari, issued a brief statement that said, “Per adesso, all I can say is we are looking forward to getting our hands on the investigation and the evidence to understand why these charges are being pursued.”
CNN has reached out to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
According to the sheriff’s office website, Gill has a court appearance scheduled for Monday.
“This case is bewildering and deeply disappointing,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the release. “Deputy Gill’s actions abused the trust of his fellow officers and diverted public safety resources away from protecting the community to investigate a made-up crime.”
Gill has been with the sheriff’s office since 2016, secondo il comunicato.
