HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say a sheriff's deputy is in critical condition after he was shot by a motorcyclist that he had pulled over.
A statement from authorities says the deputy stopped the motorcyclist, but that the man fled on foot, then turned around and shot the deputy.
A suspect was arrested moments later at a nearby condominium, but his name has not been released. Police would not say why the motorcyclist had been pulled over.
Investigators closed off a road in the area to look for evidence.
An undercover Broward Sheriff’s Office detective remains in "very critical condition" after being shot in Hollywood.
28-year old Maury Hernandez, a five year veteran of the force, had just left his home and was going to a special detail in Pembroke Park when he decided to pull over a motorcyclist in the 3700 block of Pembroke Road in Hollywood.
"He apparently saw something going wrong," said Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, "saw something suspicious, saw a traffic violation, and made a decision that he was going to stop someone."
At one point during the stop, the motorcyclist allegedly jumped off the bike and started running. Jenne said as Hernandez went to run after him, the man turned and fired, striking Hernandez in the head.
Hernandez was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood in “very critical’ condition.
Randy Morla, with Action A/C & Auto Repair, said he was on his way to work when he passed by a red Mazda and noticed a man crouched in pain the ground.
"I could tell something was wrong," said Morla, "then I noticed two other police deputies running across the golf course across the way."
After the shooting, the suspect ran across the Hillcrest Golf Course into the Hillcrest Condo Development at 4330 Hillcrest Drive and was taken into custody near building 23, according to BSO.
The shooting aftermath drew a massive police presence to the scene.
BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright says the detective's brother, works with the nearby Hallandale Beach Police Department, also responded to the call. The brother is a rookie who just recently graduated from the police academy. He was taken to the hospital to be with his brother who worked in the BSO's Selective Enforcement Team in District 1.
"Over the next couple of days we are going to have to say a lot of prayers for him, hold his hands," said Jenne,"if recovery comes, it's going to be a long, long time."
The east and westbound lanes of Pembroke Road, from I-95 to SW 40th Ave. will remain closed through rush hour and into the evening.
Motorists should seek alternate routes for their commute home.
Posted by: kwflatbed
Questions Still Surround Shot Florida Deputy
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. --
Questions still surround a 28-year-old Broward Sheriff's Office deputy who was shot in the head Monday while conducting a traffic stop in the 3700 block of Pembroke Road.
It was unclear why Deputy Maury Hernandez conducted a traffic stop of motorcyclist David Maldonado, who got off the vehicle, ran from the deputy, then turned and shot him, BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said.
Sheriff Ken Jenne described Hernandez's wound as "extremely serious" during a news conference Monday outside Memorial Regional Hospital.
"I was driving by and I saw the officer on the (ground)," one witness told Local 10's Glenna Milberg. "He was bent over with his face in the grass, and you could just see the pain in his face."
Coleman-Wright said Maldonado, 23, fled to a nearby condominium complex on Hillcrest Drive, where Hollywood police officers took him into custody near building No. 23. Police said he was attempting a carjacking.
Maldonado was charged with attempted first-degree murder and violation of probation. It was not clear how he violated his probation. He was being held without bond at the BSO's main jail in Fort Lauderdale.
Hernandez has been with the BSO since 2002, Jenne said. He was not on duty at the time of the shooting and was wearing plain clothes on his way to work as part of his undercover assignment with the selective enforcement team.
Hernandez was shot on the right side of his head with a .45 caliber handgun and is now breathing on a mechanical ventilator, Jenne said.
"If recovery comes, it's going to be a long, long time," Jenne said.
Jenne said it was the sixth shooting of a deputy since he became sheriff in 1998.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. --
The suspect in the shooting of a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy had targets from gun ranges hanging on the walls in his home and told investigators he didn't want to go to jail because he didn't want to miss the birth of his baby, Sheriff Ken Jenne said during a news conference Tuesday.
Deputy Maury Hernandez was shot Monday in the 3700 block of Pembroke Road, moments after he notified dispatch at 11:48 a.m. that he was stopping a motorcyclist, later identified as David Maldonado, for running several red lights.
Jenne said that witnesses at a motorcycle shop reported Hernandez, 28, getting out of his unmarked vehicle and identifying himself as law enforcement in a "non-confrontational" manner before Maldonado pushed Hernandez, ran from the deputy, then turned and shot him. Hernandez was wearing plain clothes on his way to work as part of his undercover assignment with the selective enforcement team.
"There's no question that Maldonado knew that he was dealing with a member of law enforcement," said Jenne. "Witnesses heard Detective Hernandez identify himself, saw him display his star, and most telling, the suspect has told us that he knew he was dealing with a member of law enforcement," said Jenne.
Moments later, witnesses said they heard gunshots, he said.
"I was driving by and I saw the officer on the (ground)," one witness told Local 10's Glenna Milberg. "He was bent over with his face in the grass, and you could just see the pain in his face."
David Maldonado Jenne said Maldonado fired two shots, one of them striking Hernandez from about 40 yards away. Jenne said neighbors told BSO investigators that Maldonado often practiced shooting at the gun range and practiced shooting in the head on a regular basis.
"Yesterday, detectives searched Maldonado's home as part of our investigation. What they found was chilling. The walls of his home were decorated with targets from gun ranges. Many of the targets had bullet holes concentrated in the head area. It was a very tight pattern," said Jenne.
Maldonado also told investigators that he has a baby on the way and didn't want to go to jail and miss his child's birth, prompting Maldonado to flee, Jenne said.
Maldonado, 23, fled to a nearby condominium complex on Hillcrest Drive, where Hollywood police officers took him into custody near building No. 23, BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said. Police said he was attempting a carjacking.
He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and violation of probation. It was not clear how he violated his probation. He was being held without bond at the BSO's main jail in Fort Lauderdale.
Jenne added that Hernandez, who has been with the BSO since 2002, did everything "by the book."
Deputy's Condition 'Extremely Serious'
Jenne described Hernandez's wound as "extremely serious" during a news conference Monday outside Memorial Regional Hospital.
Hernandez was shot on the right side of his head with a .45-caliber handgun and is now breathing on a mechanical ventilator, Jenne said.
"If recovery comes, it's going to be a long, long time," Jenne said.
Hernandez taught and coached baseball at Dade Christian School in Miami Lakes before joining the BSO. He is married and has no children.
Jenne said it was the sixth shooting of a deputy since he became sheriff in 1998.
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