Santa Cruz County Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller was killed in what Sheriff Jim Hart said was an ambush on June 6, 2020. A Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputy died Saturday and two officers were injured in a shooting that Sheriff Jim Hart labeled "an ambush."The deputies responded to a report of a suspicious van with guns and bomb-making materials near Ben Lomond at 1:30 p.m.
They followed a van that they allegedly saw parked in a turnout.After following the vehicle to a home in Ben Lomond, they came under attack with gunfire and improvised explosives, Hart said.
The deputy who was killed was identified as Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller. He was 38 years old, married, the father of one child and expecting the birth of another, Hart said.