At approximately 6:00pm on Saturday, September 16, 2023, a citizen passerby discovered Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department unconscious in his police cruiser near the intersection of Sierra Highway and Avenue Q in Palmdale, the victim of an ambush shooting. Deputy Clinkunbroomer was rushed to a Lancaster hospital in critical condition. Despite every effort to save his life, the injuries he suffered were not survivable.

Deputy Clinkunbroomer was on duty sitting in his marked unit when the shooting took place. Security video shows a black vehicle pulling up behind the deputy’s cruiser and pausing. Seconds later the vehicle pulls up farther, stops at the driver’s side of the cruiser and pauses again before speeding off. Deputy Clinkunbroomer’s cruiser drifts forward a short distance and stops.

Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, age 30 and an eight-year LASD veteran, was a third-generation Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff, following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather. He served the Palmdale and Antelope Valley communities with absolute distinction. He transferred to Palmdale station in July 2018, and had been a Field Training Officer for 1 1/2 years. Just four days prior to his death, Deputy Clinkenbroomer and his girlfriend were engaged to be married. In addition to his fiancé, Clinkunbroomer is survived by his parents and grandparents.