VIDEO: Florida deputy survives after body-worn camera struck by bullet
IMPACTING YOUR WALLET. WE ARE LEARNING MORE TONIGHT ABOUT THE MAN ACCUSED OF SHOOTING A DEPUTY IN VOLUSIA COUNTY. THE VOLUSIA COUNTY SHERIFF SAID 31 YEAR OLD LUIS DIAZ POLANCO DID AN AI SEARCH ASKING IF HE COULD KILL SOMEONE IF THEY VISIT HIS PROPERTY. THIS WAS JUST A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE SHOOTING OUTSIDE OF HIS HOME IN DELTONA. OFFICIALS SAY POLANCO’S MOM SAYS HE IS SCHIZOPHRENIC. WESH 2 NEWS HAYLEY CROMBLEHOLME IS LIVE AT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE THIS EVENING. AND HAYLEY, YOU HAVE BEEN PORING THROUGH BODY CAMERA VIDEO OF THAT SHOOTING. YEAH. THAT’S RIGHT. AND BEFORE PEOPLE WATCHED SOME OF THAT VIDEO, WE SHOULD WARN THEM. SOME OF IT IS DISTURBING. WE SHOULD SAY THAT BODY CAMERA VIDEO FROM THE DEPUTY THAT WAS SHOT, DEPUTY JOSE RIVERA, THAT STILL HASN’T BEEN RECOVERED BECAUSE THAT BODY CAMERA WAS HIT BY A BULLET. NOW, WE DID GET SOME GOOD NEWS TONIGHT. DEPUTY RIVERA IS EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL TOMORROW. THESE ARE THE MOMENTS AFTER DEPUTY JOSE RIVERA AND DEPUTY JACOB GOMEZ LOPEZ APPROACHED THE FRONT DOOR OF 31 YEAR-OLD LUIS DIAZ POLANCO, RESPONDING TO A CALL ABOUT AN INCIDENT EARLIER IN THE DAY WHEN POLANCO ALLEGEDLY JUMPED ON THE HOOD OF A WOMAN’S CAR. ONE THING THEY DID NOT KNOW OR ANTICIPATE WAS A VANDALISM CALL KNOCKING ON THE DOOR, WHICH THEY HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO DO, WOULD END UP IN A BARRAGE OF GUNFIRE. RIVERA’S BODY CAMERA WAS STRUCK, POSSIBLY SAVING HIS LIFE. BUT THAT VIDEO HASN’T BEEN RECOVERED. THE TRAIL OF SHELLS FROM THE FRONT DOOR TO WHERE YOU SEE DEPUTY RIVERA LEANING ON THE CAR, WOULD INDICATE HE FIRED AT HIM AND FOLLOWED HIM DOWN THAT DRIVEWAY. IN BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE FROM OTHER DEPUTIES, YOU SEE A TOURNIQUET BEING APPLIED TO DEPUTY RIVERA. WE NEED TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE. WE’RE GOING TO GET YOU. HE’S RUSHED INTO A PATROL CAR. RIVERA WAS HIT IN THE SHOULDER AND THE LEG. DEPUTIES RUSHED HIM TO A HOSPITAL IN DELTONA. OFFICER SHOT ONE IN THE LEG, ONE IN THE ARM. WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING, DEPUTIES BACK AT THE HOME WERE TAKING POLANCO INTO CUSTODY. GET HIM IN THIS CAR OVER HERE. ONCE IN CUSTODY, THE SHERIFF SAID POLANCO TALKED. THE DEPUTIES CAME UP TO THE HOUSE. HE HAD EVERY INTENTION TO SHOOT THEM, SHOOT THEM IN THEIR VEST. AND IF I DIDN’T RUN OUT OF AMMUNITION, I WOULD HAVE KILLED THEM ALL. BUT RIVERA SURVIVED. THE SHERIFF SAID HE’S EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL WEDNESDAY. ALONG WITH THAT PHYSICAL TRAUMA, THE SHERIFF SAID THE INCIDENT HAS TAKEN AN EMOTIONAL TOLL ON EVERYONE INVOLVED. THE EASY PART IS GOING TO BE THE PHYSICAL WOUNDS THEY’RE GOING TO HEAL, BUT ALL OF US ON THE COMMAND STAFF HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH EVERY ONE OF THOSE DEPUTIES THAT WERE OUT THERE WHO’S APPLYING TOURNIQUETS, WHO WAS FIRST AID, WHO LOADED THEM IN THE CAR TO GO AIR ONE CREW. EVERYBODY IS HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THIS. AND AND THAT’S AND THAT’S WHAT OUR JOB IS. OUR JOB IS TO GET THEM OVER THE HUMP. NOW, THE SHERIFF SAID TODAY THAT ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS IS NOW INVOLVED. LOOKING INTO THE GUN THAT WAS USED IN THE SHOOTING AND WHERE IT CAME FROM. THE SHERIFF SAID THE POLANCO SAID HE GOT IT OFF OF A PERSON IN SANFORD, BUT THE SHERIFF SAID THAT GUN WAS NEVER REPORTED STOLEN. NOW, AT THIS POINT, THE SUSPECT HE IS BEING HE’S FACING CHARGES OF ATTEMPTED MURDER. HE IS BEING HELD ON NO BOND. COVERING VOLUSIA COUNTY, LIVE IN DELTONA. HAYLEY CROMBLEHOLME WESH TWO NEWS. POLANCO FACED A JUDGE FOR THE FIRST TIME EARLIER TODAY. THE JUDGE REJECTED THE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S REQUEST TO GRANT POLANCO A $500,000 BOND WITH GPS MONITORING. A NEIGHBOR TOLD WESH TWO POLANCO WAS LIVING WITH HIS MOM AND THEY HAD ONLY LIVED THERE ABOUT THREE MONTHS. AFTER HEARING SEVERAL GUNSHOTS. THAT NEIGHBOR, REESE SMITH, SAYS HE RAN TO SHELTER WITH HIS TWO KIDS INSIDE HIS HOME. HE SHOWED WESH 2 HOW THE DEPUTIES EXCHANGE OF GUNFIRE WITH POLANCO DAMAGED HIS TRUCK. DEPUTIES TOOK OFF THIS WAY, AND THEY USED MY VEHICLE AS PROTECTION, AND I GOT A COUPLE BULLET HOLES IN MY TRUCK. MY WIFE’S CAR GOT GRAZED UP AT THE TOP. AS POLANCO WALKED BACK TO THE JAIL, HE COULD BE HEARD TELLING HIS ATTORNEY SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF, QUOTE, I NEED TO TALK TO MY
VIDEO: Florida deputy survives after body-worn camera struck by bullet
Updated: 8:46 AM MST Mar 4, 2026
Warning: The above video may be graphic to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.A body-worn camera may have saved the life of a deputy in Florida.Volusia County Deputy José Rivera was investigating a battery call when a man with a gun emerged. The suspect fired several shots, including one that struck Rivera’s body-worn camera.Rivera was shot in the leg and shoulder, but none of his injuries appear to be life-threatening.The bullet that hit the deputy’s shoulder is believed to have ricocheted off the body-worn camera. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he believes the bodycam may have saved Rivera’s life.The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage from the shooting. See the video below.The suspect, Luis Diaz Polanco, was taken into custody and is being held without bond on two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.Chitwood described Rivera’s survival as a “miracle in the line of duty,” crediting both the deputies’ fast response and what he called an “angel on his shoulder.”“Sometimes that angel on your shoulder is the reason you survive,” Chitwood said. “That young man last night had an angel on his shoulder.”
Warning: The above video may be graphic to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
A body-worn camera may have saved the life of a deputy in Florida.
Volusia County Deputy José Rivera was investigating a battery call when a man with a gun emerged. The suspect fired several shots, including one that struck Rivera’s body-worn camera.
Rivera was shot in the leg and shoulder, but none of his injuries appear to be life-threatening.
The bullet that hit the deputy’s shoulder is believed to have ricocheted off the body-worn camera. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he believes the bodycam may have saved Rivera’s life.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage from the shooting. See the video below.
The suspect, Luis Diaz Polanco, was taken into custody and is being held without bond on two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
Chitwood described Rivera’s survival as a “miracle in the line of duty,” crediting both the deputies’ fast response and what he called an “angel on his shoulder.”
“Sometimes that angel on your shoulder is the reason you survive,” Chitwood said. “That young man last night had an angel on his shoulder.”