Deputy Shot During Stop

A Sacramento County (Calif.) sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed by the driver of a white van who escaped after the encounter, and is still on the loose. Dep. Jeffrey Mitchell, 43, stopped the van at 3:30 a.m. in a very rural part of the county and, according to news accounts, used his laptop to enter the details–Meiss Rd. east of Dillar Rd., white van, one occupant, no license plate. Just minutes later Mitchell’s radio keyed briefly, but there was no voice transmission. A sheriff’s dispatcher then tried to reach him on the radio, and then called his cellular phone, but there was no answer. The dispatcher then sent deputies Code 3 to check on him. A deputy arrived at 3:37 a.m. to find him mortally injured, his handcuffs out, and evidence of a struggle at the rear of the patrol car. Mitchell’s handgun may have been fired. The search for the van and suspect continues.