Ryan Clinkunbroomer: Slain LASD Deputy laid to rest
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. (CNS) - Funeral services were held Thursday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for the Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was gunned down in his patrol vehicle last month near the Palmdale sheriff's station.
Ryan Clinkunbroomer, a 30-year-old, third-generation deputy who was only recently engaged to be married, was laid to rest in a private ceremony following a mass led by Archbishop José Gomez.
Hundreds of law enforcement personnel, including Sheriff Robert Luna, turned out at the cathedral to pay their respects at the remembrance.
Speakers included Luna; fellow deputies Zachary Corrales, Zachary Gregg and Andrew De La Rosa; sheriff's Capt. Josh Bardon of the Palmdale station; Brittany Lindsey, Clinkunbroomer's fiancee; and Michael Clinkunbroomer, the slain deputy's father.
"Ryan was the best guy I've ever met," Lindsey -- who was engaged to Clinkunbroomer just four days before he was killed on Sept. 16 -- said at a Sept. 20 news conference.
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"He was so thoughtful and caring, and everyone who met him or knew him, loved him. I'm so happy I was able to love him. It was not long enough. I couldn't wait to start our lives together. We were just engaged, planning to get married and start a family."
Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer / LASD
Clinkunbroomer was shot around 6 p.m Sept. 16 while sitting in his patrol car at a traffic light near the station at Sierra Highway and East Avenue Q.
Video from the scene showed a dark-colored sedan pulling up behind the patrol SUV, then slowly pulling alongside the driver's side of the deputy's vehicle, pausing, then driving away.
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.
Clinkunbroomer's alleged killer, Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar, 29, of Palmdale, was arrested two days after the killing, following a standoff at his family's home. He was charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.