While responding to a battery call at a home in Deltona on Monday night, Volusia County, Florida, Sheriff’s Deputy José Rivera was shot in the leg and shoulder. Sheriff Mike Chitwood says Rivera’s body camera likely saved his life when a bullet struck it “dead center” and ricocheted through his shoulder during a close-range gunfight with a suspect. Rivera and a recent academy graduate were attempting to speak with a man at the home when the shooting began.
Investigators believe Rivera and the suspect exchanged fire, then other deputies pulled the deputy out of the line of fire and rushed him to the hospital. The sheriff says the man, who has a history of attacking family members, was arrested at the scene and is expected to face charges including attempted murder.
The sheriff’s office had just switched to chest-mounted body cameras about six months ago, replacing shoulder-mounted models, and Chitwood says this was the first time he’d seen a body camera take a bullet. Rivera, who’s been with the agency since 2023, was alert and joking with medical staff and is expected to make a full recovery.
Source: WFLA
photo: GETTY