There is a war on cops,” former Las Vegas police Lt. Randy Sutton told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday, reacting to the shooting of two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies the night before.
“This is a reality check for America,” said Sutton, who is also the founder of The Wounded Blue, a nonprofit organization that assists injured and disabled officers. “There is a war on cops. It truly exists, and the fact that this individual was so emboldened as to walk up to this patrol car and open fire and ambush these two deputies is a stark reminder of that fact.”
A manhunt was underway in California and the two sheriff’s deputies were “fighting for their lives” on Sunday after the deputies were shot in their patrol car around 7 p.m. Saturday by a suspect who “opened fire without warning or provocation,” authorities said.
A handful of anti-police protesters showed up at the hospital where the deputies were being treated, but later dispersed after some tense moments with authorities who were guarding the entrance, KABC reported.
Protesters were blocking the entrance to the hospital emergency room and yelling, “We hope they die,” referring to the two deputies, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Sutton said he is “sickened” by the shooting of the deputies and the actions of the protesters at the hospital.
He went on to say that the protesters who showed up at the hospital displayed “some of the most disgusting human behavior that I could possibly imagine.”
“Think what kind of human being it takes to show up where two officers are fighting for their lives and say something as horrendous as, ‘We hope you die,’” Sutton continued.
“This is behavior that has become all too common in America, and this is the evidence of the war on cops.”
The deputies, a 24-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, were both in critical condition as they underwent surgery following the attack, which occurred outside a Metro rail station in Compton, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The deputies were out of surgery by 11 p.m. PT, according to KABC-TV. An update on the conditions of the two deputies was not immediately available Sunday morning.
Both deputies were sworn-in just over a year ago and the female deputy is the mother of a 6-year-old boy, officials said in a 10 p.m. news conference. Both of their families were rallying around them at the hospital.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said while authorities don’t have a detailed suspect description, one of the deputies described the shooter as a “dark-skinned male.”
Villanueva said the shooting shows the dangers officers face in the streets and how situations can change in “the blink of an eye.”
Villanueva also said the shooting seemed to follow a growing trend of suspects opening fire on law enforcement officers without provocation.
