SANTA MARIA, Calif. - An officer-involved shooting in Santa Maria early Saturday morning leaves one officer dead.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department will investigate the shooting and will hold a news conference at 2pm here in Santa Maria.
The Santa Maria Police Department says it had been conducting an internal criminal Investigation against one of it's officers for allegations of sexual misconduct against a minor and when they tried to make an arrest, the officer drew his gun and fired on Police who then fired back.
Here is a portion of the news release sent by police:
"The Santa Maria Police Department had been conducting an internal criminal Investigation against one of their own members of the department, a police officer, for allegations of sexual misconduct against a minor. That investigation became apparent to the officer being investigated while he was on-duty and it was necessary to make an arrest of the officer. As officers attempted to affect the arrest, the officer struggled with the arresting officers, drew his weapon, and fired. In response, one officer on scene fired at the suspect officer hitting him once.
The officer was transported to Marian Medical Center where life-saving measures were conducted. Although diligent attempts were made to save the officer, he passed away from the injury.
The Santa Maria Police Department is deeply saddened by this tragic loss and has expressed condolences to the family of the officer. The name of the deceased officer is being withheld pending complete notification of family members."
