Bodycam takes direct hit as Volusia deputy is shot twice during battery investigation, sheriff says

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A deputy is conscious and alert after being shot twice on Monday evening, and his department-issued body camera may have helped save his life, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the deputy, identified as Jose Rivera, and a recent academy graduate, were investigating a battery call in Deltona at 2684 Candler Drive when Rivera was shot. One of the bullets struck Rivera’s body camera, which was positioned in the center of his chest, according to a report by our sister station WKMG in Orlando.

“Thank God for his body camera, takes a round dead center in through the body camera, which we believe then ricochets through his shoulder,” Chitwood said during a press conference at the scene.

The suspect was identified as 31-year-old Luis Diaz Polanco.

Sheriff Chitwood said that deputies initially responded to a report from Polanco’s mother, who said he had become violent earlier in the day. When Rivera and his trainee, Deputy Gomez Lopez, arrived at the home, Polanco answered the door holding a box and appeared surprised to see law enforcement. After deputies asked him to put the box down and step outside, he slammed the door and locked it.

Peering through a window, deputies saw Polanco walking toward the back of the house with the box. Rivera instructed Deputy Lopez to move to the rear of the home. Moments later, Polanco returned to the front door, opened it, pulled a handgun from the box and immediately began firing, Chitwood said.

The exchange of gunfire happened at a distance of about six feet, Chitwood said. Rivera fired four to six rounds, and investigators believe Polanco fired a similar number.

Chitwood said in addition to the round that struck Rivera’s body‑worn camera before striking his shoulder, another round passed through his thigh. Deputies rushed Rivera into a patrol car and drove him directly to a hospital before he was later airlifted to Halifax Health’s trauma center in Daytona Beach.

“He is conscious, alert and in good enough spirits to crack jokes with the medical staff treating his injuries,” Sheriff Chitwood said on social media.

Chitwood also noted that they are going to send the body camera off to the manufacturer to see if they will be able to obtain the video footage of the incident.

Deputies did not say if Polanco was injured in the gun fire, but said that, “We’re waiting for a search warrant to get into the house, to recover the firearm, to recover shell casings. He’s being questioned right now by FDLE agents and by detectives to try to get to the bottom of this.”

Officials said traffic on Howland and Providence is being rerouted in the area, so please avoid the area.

“Thankful our deputy is alive today and hopefully well on his way to a fast recovery,” Chitwood said.