The two gunman then got into a vehicle and drove off, investigators said.
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Another officer heard the gunshots and pursued the attackers as they fled into the neighboring city of Montebello. Investigators were still in the Montebello neighborhood searching for more information and possible suspects, Corina said.
The incident happened late Wednesday, shared Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Corina. “It doesn’t look like it was random”, Corina said of the slaying.
Two men and a male juvenile are in custody, he said. 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”.
Downey, Calif., city firefighters furl a large American flag that had flown atop a ladder truck over a procession of vehicles carrying the body of Downey Police Officer Ricardo Galvez in Downey Thursday, November 19, 2015.
The vehicle in which Galvez was shot and killed was not a marked police vehicle, but officials wouldn’t confirm whether it was Galvez’s personal vehicle or an unmarked department vehicle.
Asked whether any of the detainees were suspected of shooting Galvez, Corina said, “We believe we may have one of the suspects, but we’re in the process of interviewing them and a few of the other individuals”.
Corina added that SWAT has apprehended a number of suspects. He was sitting in the driver’s seat of his personal vehicle when he was shot, Corina said.
Speaking about the killed police officer, Downey Police Chief Carl Charles said, “Words can not express the love and respect we have for Ricky”.
Galvez was a Marine veteran from the Downey area.
A SWAT team assisted in the investigation, and California Highway Patrol officers handled traffic control around the perimeter of the Montebello search area. He was single and lived close to his siblings and other family members, Charles said at a news conference.
Police chiefs across the country have raised fears of a growing tide of violence against officers who are afraid to retaliate because of concerns over negative headlines.
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Galvez worked five years for police in Downey, a city of roughly 114,000 people about 10 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
