Initial indications are that “he was targeted”, Saldana said, but she could not provide any additional information. The suspects admitted “they were attempting to rob Officer Galvez, not realizing he was a police officer”, Corina said.
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Downey Police Officer Ricardo “Ricky” Galvez was killed in an apparent botched robbery after he completed his shift on Wednesday night, authorities said.
“Words can not express the love and respect we have for Ricky”, he said.
Nick Ut/AP A K-9 police officer searches a vehicle after suspects drove off from Downey police headquarters into the city of Montebello, Calif. on Thursday. Two men ran to his auto, opened fire and took off in a vehicle, police said.
“If you could mold a police officer, you would mold that police officer after Ricky Galvez”, said Lt. Mark McDaniel, a department spokesman.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Fund there have been 112 police killings this year, including Galvez, compared with 101 in the whole of 2014. He said officers in one big city precinct told him, “We feel like we’re under siege and we don’t feel much like getting out of our cars”. Meanwhile, Sheriff’s SWAT searched homes and apartments in the area where the pursuit ended.
At a news conference about 6:30 a.m., Downey police Chief Carl Charles had described the fatally wounded officer. “It doesn’t look like it was random”, Corina said of the slaying. He is survived by his mother, brother and sisters.
In a manifesto written on his Facebook page, Dorner said that he was discriminated against because of his race and unfairly fired from the department, and that he sought retribution against those who wronged him.
Late this morning, the officer’s body was transported from the crime scene to the coroner’s facility, escorted by a procession of police vehicles. “They’ve evacuated a few buildings and a few townhomes, and they’re looking for this suspect that killed a police officer”, he said.
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It lies about 10 miles (21 km.) southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
