SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office announced that Deputy Adam Gibson was killed Monday night, following a chase and shooting that ended near Cal Expo.
Gibson was a six-year veteran of the department and leaves behind a wife and 9-month-old child. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said he personally delivered the news to the deputy's wife.
Gibson also served two tours in Afghanistan as a member of the United States Marine Corps. He joined the department in 2014 and had a role in corrections, patrol, and most recently as a canine handler. Gibson even earned a bronze star for bravery from the sheriff's office in 2018, by helping save a man's life on Highway 99 and Elk Grove Boulevard.
“He made a huge difference to this department, but more importantly, he’s a husband and a father and a brother to many people who he was immensely important to. So I don’t think that can be understated," said Sgt. Rod Grassman, spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
K-9 officer "Riley" and the suspect were also killed. K-9 Riley had been a member of the sheriff's office for three years.
This all happened after deputies spotted a car in the Ardendale strip mall parking lot off of Arden Way that was believed to be involved in a series of burglaries.
Sgt. Grassman said the suspect was on active parole, so deputies wanted to do a parole search of the vehicle. He said the suspect wouldn't cooperate and drove away.
Authorities said officers were led on a chase for less than 15 minutes before the suspect crashed his car in the Cal Expo parking lot.
“A device was used to break the window so they could see inside of the vehicle because the windows were all tinted and they could not see what was going on inside of the vehicle," Sgt. Grassman said. "A K-9 dog was deployed and as soon as a K-9 went inside that vehicle, shots rang out."
After the suspect hit the two deputies and K-9, deputies returned fire, killing the man on scene.
Sheriff Jones said this deputy's death marks the fourth officer killed on the job during his 10 years as sheriff. He said dash camera video was recording and will be made available at a later time. The Sacramento Police Department will investigate the incident.
Another deputy, 43, was shot and is recovering at UC Davis Medical Center. The injured deputy was K-9 Riley's handler.
“In law enforcement, this is a very family oriented sort of organization where you put your life on the line for the brothers and sisters that you work with and any loss feels like it would be a sibling," Grassman said.
A memorial fund has been created in honor of Gibson. Click HERE if you'd like to make a donation.
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Sacramento County sheriff's deputy, K-9 killed in shootout at Cal Expo