NBC Bay Area has learned the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is taking a closer look at an investigation of an officer-involved shooting that made headlines around the world earlier this year.
In February, a deputy, who is also a Sikh, said he was ambushed and shot at in the middle of the night with one of the bullets striking his body camera.
The sheriff put Deputy Sukhdeep Gill back on administrative leave about a month ago as detectives look deeper into their investigation of the February shooting.
At the time, the sheriff called it a possible hate crime and ambush attack. She displayed troubling pictures showing bulletholes in a patrol cruiser.
She also said a bullet would have struck and possibly killed Deputy Gill if it had not hit his body cam instead.
That night, Deputy Gill told investigators he pulled over to relieve himself on Uvas Road. He said a car approached, turned off its lights, and someone opened fire.
Deputy Gill said he shot back, and called for a code 30, meaning every police officer in the area has to respond.
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A sheriff’s department spokesman says they have not found the shooter, or the car.
Deputy Gill has not returned NBC Bay Area’s for comment.
In a statement, the sheriff will only say, “The sheriff’s office is actively and objectively investigating the officer involved shooting incident that occurred earlier this year. The investigation is ongoing and Deputy Gill is currently on administrative leave.”
Administrative leave is standard for any officer-involved shooting investigation. But Deputy Gill had been back on patrol for some time.
The sheriff will not answer any of NBC Bay Area’s questions about why they’re taking a closer look at the investigation.
