DELTONA, Fla. (WSVN) — Newly released body camera footage captured the moments a Florida deputy nearly lost his life on the job when an armed suspect opened fire.
In the newly released video, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies could be seen approaching a home off Candler Drive in Deltona, March 2.
The deputies were there to ask Luis Diaz Polanco about an incident from earlier in the day, but instead of answering questions, he pulled out a gun and fired at them 12 times.
Deputy Jose Rivera was hit twice and pulled to safety by other deputies at the scene.
The bodycam video captured his colleagues applying tourniquets and rushing him to the hospital.
“They don’t talk about that in the academy. You don’t even hear about it on your day-to-day job life, but as soon as something happens, we’re here to back each other up, no matter what,” said Rivera.
A judge has now sealed a portion of the conversation investigators had with Diaz Polanco.
A large portion of the transcript was redacted, but Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood revealed a portion of it prior to the court order.
“When the deputies came up to the house, he had every intention to shoot them, ‘Shoot them in their vest, and if I didn’t run out of ammunition, I would have killed them all,'” said Chitwood.
In the public portion of Diaz Polanco’s transcript, he explained to investigators that he ran out of his psychiatric medication and was in crisis, unable to sleep or eat.
The suspect said he had doctor’s appointments to receive injections every week, but he got lazy and fed up with the frequency of the appointments and hadn’t gone for the past month.
Rivera also has plenty of doctor’s appointments now as he recovers.
A nonprofit focused on first responders surprised him with a $1,500 grant to help with the medical bills.
“He’s a hero, and we were glad to be a part of the recovery process, and hopefully he’s out there serving again sometime soon,” said Chad Cartledge, president of Running 4 Heroes.
The sheriff’s office said Rivera is recovering at home and is expected to be OK.
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