- A 27-year-old sheriff’s deputy in California was arrested and charged after reporting that he was ambushed while on the job, according to a DA news release.
- Deputy Sukhdeep Gill told officers that he was a victim of a drive-by shooting on Friday, however, an investigation exposed holes in his story.
- Gill was charged with falsely reporting a crime and felony vandalism, the news release stated.
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A California Sheriff Deputy was arrested and charged after being accused of reporting a false story about being violently ambushed while on the job
According to a district attorney’s news release, Santa Clara County Deputy Sukhdeep Gill,27, was arrested after an investigation revealed holes in his account from nearly a year ago. Gill was charged with falsely reporting a crime and felony vandalism after reporting that he was shot in a drive-by shooting.
Gill reported the incident on his radio on a Friday night last January just after 10:30 p.m, according to the news release. He said, “Shots fired!” prompting officers from the sheriff’s office and other local police departments to respond to the scene.
Gill told an officer he stopped and parked his car to urinate, and as he walked back to his patrol vehicle, a person shot at him from the passenger’s seat of a silver Sedan that had its lights turned off, the release said. Gill said he returned two shots to the car before it drove off.
However, officers on the scene did not see any serious injuries on Gill, but the news release stated that it “appeared he had been shot only once, and in a miraculous spot – his body-worn camera, which was destroyed.”
Gill's account sparked a "manhunt" for the shooting suspect. However, evidence "exposed serious discrepancies" in his story, according to the news release.
"This case is bewildering and deeply disappointing," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the news release. "Deputy Gill's actions abused the trust of his fellow officers and diverted public safety resources away from protecting the community to investigate a made-up crime."
"I can tell you we look forward to getting a look at the investigation and the related evidence to understand why these charges are being pursued," Gill's lawyer, Nicole Pifari said, NBC News reported.
According to the report, Gill was placed on administrative leave amid the investigation into the incident.
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