California deputy and father of two killed in ambush, 2 other officers injured

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In the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement first exploding on the scene, following the death of Michael Brown, who was killed when a Ferguson, Mo., police officer was forced to defend his life, America saw a rash of cops being ambushed — none more chilling than the cold-blooded assassination of Deputy Darren Goforth in Houston, who was shot in the back of the head while getting gas.

On Saturday, a deputy lost his life in California after being ambushed, with two other officers being injured, though the incident doesn’t appear to be related to the protests over the death of George Floyd.

More from Fox News:

A call about a suspicious van led to an ambush Saturday that resulted in the death of a Northern California sheriff’s deputy and injuries to two other law enforcement officers, according to reports.

Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was fatally shot during the confrontation in Ben Lomond, an unincorporated area, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said.

A second deputy was injured, and a third officer from the California Highway Patrol was shot in a hand, the sheriff said.

 

Santa Cruz County deputies were responding to a 911 call about a suspicious van with guns and bomb-making devices inside, according to Sheriff Jim Hart.

When deputies arrived, they saw the van drive off down a driveway. They followed the vehicle and were ambushed by gunfire and explosives after getting out of their vehicle.

Hart said the suspect, identified as Steven Carrillo, 38, was shot during his capture and was being treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

According to reports, Gutzwiller was a married father of one child with a second child on the way.

And while his death does not appear to be a result of the outcry over Floyd’s death, it does represent the reality that for every police officer in America, their next call could be their last call.

Police officers are being widely vilified in America today, as the media perpetuates a narrative that racial-driven police brutality is rampant, even though statistics do not bear this out.

At the same time, the men and women who put on the uniform risk their lives every single day on the job to provide a safer environment for Americans to work, play and raise their families.

A risk that has magnified significantly in the past 12 days.

After the death of Floyd, which was marked by an image of a police officer with his knee on the deceased man’s neck, cops came under siege in America.

In New York City last week, an officer was run down by a car and sent to the hospital in serious condition, and another officer was stabbed in the neck Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, in what officials described as an unprovoked attack.

In St. Louis, four officers were shot, and an officer in Jacksonville, Fla., was stabbed in the neck.

And on and on the list goes of attacks on law enforcement, with cops being shot, hit with bricks and run over by vehicles. Dozens of officers have been injured over the past two weeks.

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the death of Sgt. Gutzwiller from Twitter:

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