The Antelope Valley Times

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Authorities arrest alleged killer of sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale

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PALMDALE – After an hours-long standoff, a 29-year-old man was arrested Monday for allegedly killing a third-generation sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down near the department’s Palmdale station over the weekend.

Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was shot around 6 p.m Saturday, Sept. 16, while sitting in his patrol car near the station at Sierra Highway and East Avenue Q. Sheriff’s officials said a good Samaritan stopped to render aid after the shooting and the wounded deputy was taken to Antelope Valley Medical Center in grave condition. He was pronounced dead that night.

Early Monday morning, sheriff’s deputies arrested 29-year-old Kevin Cataneo Salazar at his family’s home following a lengthy standoff. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Special Enforcement Bureau deputies took him into custody following a barricade that ended after the SEB personnel used “chemical agents” at the scene. Luna said “numerous firearms” were recovered following the arrest, and deputies seized a dark-colored Toyota Camry that was believed to be linked to the killing.

“Thirty-six hours after the murder of our deputy, the men and women of our department arrested him early this morning,” Luna said during a news conference late Monday morning.

Luna said tips from the public led investigators to the suspect, and he hailed the professionalism shown by deputies involved in the barricade situation and arrest of a person despite knowing the many may have killed one of their own.

“Those special enforcement deputies took the time to try to deescalate this and take this individual peacefully into custody, when they knew our deputy was not afforded the same opportunity,” Luna said. “He never gave our deputy a chance, but yet our men and women gave this individual a chance to take him into custody peacefully. That’s the difference between professionals and individuals out there who are targeting not only community members but more importantly law enforcement out on the street.”

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Luna said a motive for the killing remains a mystery. “We don’t know yet, but we intend to find out,” he said, adding that Clinkunbroomer was “murdered, ambushed by a coward.”

Luna read this statement from Clinkunbroomer’s family.

“Our son Ryan was a dedicated hard-working deputy sheriff who enjoyed working here at the Palmdale station,” according to the family. “He was proud to work along the side of his partners that he considered brothers and sisters as he sacrificed daily to better the community that he served. Ryan made the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. Ryan was recently engaged to the love of his life. As our first-born son, Ryan will be greatly missed by his family, friends and the sheriff’s department as a whole. Please keep Ryan’s family, friends and colleagues in your prayers and respect everyone’s privacy during our time of mourning.”

Luna again urged residents who may have information related to the shooting to come forward.

“I want to stress that our investigators are still actively working this case,” he said. “There’s more information that we probably don’t know at this time. Every piece of evidence, everything we have, will be analyzed and I do want to stress to our community that although we are extremely confident that we have the right (person) in custody, I am still asking people to come forward and give us any piece of information that they believe that they have. Why? Because the arrest is only one part of this. We have to get this individual prosecuted now to the full extent of the law, and we need the public’s continued help and support in doing that.”

County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she “will not rest” until the deputy’s killer is fully prosecuted. “We need to send a clear message that this type of cowardly attack is not going to be tolerated, not here in the Antelope Valley, nowhere in L.A. County, quite frankly, nowhere in California, it shouldn’t be anywhere in this nation,” she said. “This was an attack on the law enforcement community. An attack on public safety. An attack on law abiding residents of Los Angeles County who believe in and support law and order.”

There was no immediate word on where Salazar was being held, or on his bail.

The Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs announced Monday that those wishing to donate to assist the slain deputy’s family can send funds to the website www.alads.org/donate.

Clinkunbroomer was believed to have been stopped at a red light when he was shot. On Sunday, Luna said a car that was seen pulling alongside Clinkunbroomer’s patrol vehicle before speeding away in what he called “widely circulated video” was being considered a “vehicle of interest.” He described it as a 2006-12 dark gray Toyota Corolla. A dark gray Corolla was seen Monday morning being removed from outside the suspect’s home.

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Luna noted Saturday night that the slain deputy’s father and grandfather had also been deputies, and that Clinkunbroomer had gotten engaged just four days before his death. Luna struggled to hold back his emotions while discussing what he described as a targeted ambush killing.

“He was just driving down the street,” Luna explained. “And for no apparent reason — and we’re still looking into the specific reasons — somebody decided to shoot and murder him, I’m assuming at this point, because he was in uniform. That, to me, is sickening. That’s not who this community is and that’s why we stand up here collectively together really asking our community for your assistance as we move forward.”

Anyone who witnessed anything related to the shooting, especially in the area of Sierra Highway at around 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, is urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

In response to the killing, multiple agencies announced on Sunday they were offering rewards for information leading to the killer. The county and city of Palmdale each offered $100,000, while ALADS put up another $50,000 in reward money. Hundreds of people attended a vigil in memory of the fallen deputy Sunday night. Luna said Clinkunbroomer was an eight-year veteran of the department and had been with the Palmdale station since July 2018. He served as a field training officer, which Luna said is a role reserved for only “the best of the best.”

Last week, Clinkunbroomer’s mother, Kim Etzel Clinkunbroomer, posted several photos of her son and his fiancé on Instagram with the message: “We are so excited to add to our family. Congrats to our son Ryan and his fiancé Brittany.” During an overnight procession, law enforcement officers escorted Clinkunbroomer’s body to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

The last Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed in the line of duty was Sgt. Steve Owen, 53, a 29-year department veteran who worked out of the Lancaster station and was shot while investigating a reported break- in on Oct. 5, 2016.

Deputy Alejandro Martinez died July 28, several months after he was struck by a wrong-way vehicle while training with dozens of colleagues near the sheriff’s STARS Explorer Academy law enforcement training center in Whittier in November 2022. The driver, 22-year-old Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez of Diamond Bar, told reporters that he fell asleep at the wheel.

Deputy Steve Belanger died on Feb. 6, 2018, from a gunshot wound sustained on Dec. 10, 1994, when he was ambushed while conducting a traffic stop in the 18400 block of La Guardia Street in Rowland Heights. Doctors were unable to remove the bullet from Belanger’s brain, and he remained under constant medical care and confined to a wheelchair until he died.

Previous related story: Deputy shot and killed near Palmdale Station, manhunt underway for suspect

27 comments for "Authorities arrest alleged killer of sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale"

  1. What I find rude is the deputy who says more importantly killing the deputy as if the deputy is more important than a regular citizen. Personally I feel everyone is equally important. Yes sheriff’s are to be commended for their service and bravery especially in this day and age and I have both friends and relatives who are los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputies and I’ve asked their opinion and even they thought that comment was in poor taste.

    Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in enhanced sentences for murdering law enforcement officers because they are out there protecting the folks and I also feel they should make a lot more money but more important. Well, I agree with the founding forefathers of this nation about when government agencies and those who are supposed to serve start thinking they are now important. But I’m not gonna get into all that.

    I hope of the person is found guilty he gets a sentence that is what the wishes of this Deputies family chooses it to be and they are the ones who really should get to sentence this punk coward who ambushed a deputy which is really about as low as you can get our real close to it.

    My heart goes out to this young deputies family and friends. It’s so tragic this man brave enough to try and protect the community from cowards like this guy was ambushed by one and taken far before his time.

    Maybe our (self) esteemed mayor, wrex Perris, should stop his attack on homeless tweekers and rather than worry about if the bicycles they are riding were paid for by them or not he should switch the figure out his new police force to answering some of those 911 calls and maybe look for serious criminals like cop killers. The homeless tweekers are taking care of each other and themselves by lacing other illicit drugs with fentanyl or from not taking care of their health and doing from conditions easily treatable if they did what the doctor says. They will probably become extinct before wrex could eliminate them anyways. If personally rather see my tax dollars being doesn’t on perhaps catching someone for a serious crime and keeping them locked up so that their next crime isn’t killing a cop than spent on harassing homeless tweekers on bicycles. I think as the price of housing criminals use pretty much the same, focus on real criminalsv there Mr mayor.

    Lowercase was intentional just for the record. You figure out the why. Lol

  2. Does anybody here know if and remember the ambush and killing of 4 CHP officers at J’s restaurant off of Lyons in the tail end of the 60s. They were just sitting in a booth. The suspects, two were latter cornered and died in a shootout in Lake Hughes. But yet there is somebody here in this thread that thinks criminals don’t just pop out and do these things or in a way to draw attention to themselves. This type of crime is nothing new. That’s why we have enforcement because criminals do exist. According to timmy he knows more criminals than anyone else. Spoken like a true scumbag.

    • I’m a Vietnam Veteran handicapped but I would love to hook a special present for the asshole coward to two wires we used during the Vietnam War one wire to his balls and another one do his dik and give a jolt of 400 pounds slow torture but very effective

    • What does that mean, another stupid comment. Like this couldn’t happen in Lancaster when it happens across the entire country. The deputy in Riverside county 3mos ago, El Monte last year, the Ventura Sargent in Thousand Oaks 2yrs ago. 6 piece officers in so many years just in the southland. Just when you think timmy couldn’t skim the bottom any lower, there you are. Being face down on the federal prison floor did a number. You conveniently left that part out of your begging cup.

  4. The voters opted for both keeping and expediting the death penalty in 2018 (I believe). Your governor Gruesome Newsome arbitrarily and unilaterally ignored and reversed that with a moratorium on executions. That’s democracy? He spit in the voters’ faces because he and the elites “know better”.

    • This is something so many people seem to have forgotten. There were two separate propositions that he completely ignored. And somehow he’s not gone.

    • How do rumors get started??? All true expect it wasn’t voted on. However, a poll did show that 44% agreed with the repeal, 35% disagreed, and 21% undecided. Not saying I disagree with you. Just stating the facts.

      • Larry, that’s ridiculous. Get your facts straight before spouting nonsense.

        From Wiki:

        “On November 8, 2016, California voted on two competing initiatives about capital punishment. Proposition 62 which, as Proposition 34, would have abolished the death penalty, was rejected by a 53-47 margin. The other initiative, Proposition 66, provides the streamlining of the capital appeal process, and also requires death-row offenders to work in jail and pay restitution to victims families, something they were previously exempted from. The measure passed 51–49. Its constitutionality was upheld 5-2 by the state supreme court on August 24, 2017.”

  5. 30 days then firing squad. Enough is enough. Time for criminals to pay severely. We need to be able to defend ourselves. The cops are spread too thin. Bring back the death penalty and fast track it. No more death row. 30 days you’re off the planet.

  6. SALAZAR THE CHICKEN CHIT ASSHOLE DRY GULCHED OUR BRAVE DEPUTY –

    HE WAS A COWARD ALSO BY NOT SHOOTING IT OUT WITH THE COPS –

    I’D LIKE SOME WESTERN JUSTICE HERE –

    WOULDN’T YOU..?

    A SHORT TRAIL ON TV –

    A PUBLIC HANGING IN THE TOWN SQUARE –

    BURIAL IN BOOT HILL –

    ***

    WANT TO BET THE KILLER’S NEIGHBORS ARE RELIEVED –

    ***

  7. In a prior murder, local authorities opted for the person of interest in one case to tried in federal court , not State court, because the Feds have the death penalty and will use it and an example is Tim McVeigh who bombed the federal building. No excuses ever again, if you murder a police officer, you know the penalty.

  9. According to an LA Times article, the subject had a history of mental illness, specifically schizophrenia. Now the question is, why would his mom allow him to own these weapons if the guy was severely mentally ill?

    Anyhow, it’s clear that he has abdicated his right to live in society. He needs to be locked up for life.

    • I think some of these family members have a lot to answer for 36hrs is a good amount of time, especially knowing the vehicle and him. Everyone knew of this crime by the 24hr mark, I’m sure a neighbor or two called it in, especially if the car happened to pull in that driveway at sunset.

      • I believe the family members should be held accountable for his actions because they knew he wasn’t taking his medicines and they were aware he had guns but they did nothing. They are accessories to this terrible crime that took an innocent persons life

        • 5150s can be a revolving nightmare for families, but yes the weapon issue needs to be explored and there needs to be a hotline for families too report relatives that stop taking meds or acting violently. But the infrastructure just isn’t there, if meds are stopped then there should be some automatic 90day hold and periodic wellness checks. The Sheriff rarely respond to routine calls anymore and 9/10 times just don’t have an answer for someone that hasn’t committed a serious crime yet. Also mental illness shouldn’t be a blanket term. There should be some kind of tiered system as too level of propensity to violence. The violent attack in Ventura by a deranged person slashing the throat of a father just out dining with his daughter proves something constructive needs to be done.

      • OK, mom is lying already, he bought guns. They did the background check on him. So he was approved, so don’t come up with this nonsense. That hes ill because you know, he’ll get the death penalty, so if you lie.
        So now you want to say he’s insane you’re insane

    • Locked up?!? He needs to be put to death! He had no right to take that officers life! Why should he have the chance to stay alive.

    • Well, I don’t know about anyone else but I. Married into a Hispanic family for over 30 years. They will do and lie about anything to keep their kids out of jail.

      • Do not generalize! The family YOU married into is like that, I can tell you that we called the police on my brother for a crime he committed, he was charged and served time for it.

      • There is no bigger liar than the mayor of Lancaster and he’s not hispanic. He’s white, black and asian. He has the DNA report to prove it. He’d be happy to show you.