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Deputy Shot In Head In 'Extremely Serious' Condition
Jenne Says Shooting Sixth Since He Became Sheriff
POSTED: 12:03 pm EDT August 6, 2007
UPDATED: 5:34 pm EDT August 6, 2007
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. -- A 28-year-old Broward Sheriff's Office deputy was shot in the head Monday in the 3700 block of Pembroke Road.
Sheriff Ken Jenne described Deputy Maury Hernandez's wound as "extremely serious" during a news conference outside Memorial Regional Hospital.
BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said Hernandez was conducting a traffic stop shortly before noon when the motorcyclist got off the vehicle, ran from the deputy, then turned and shot him.
"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 the suspect fled to a nearby condominium complex on Hill Crest Drive, where Hollywood police officers took him into custody near building No. 23. His name has not been released.
Hernandez was taken by ambulance to Memorial Regional Hospital. Jenne and a BSO chaplain were seen walking into the hospital a short time later.
Jenne said Hernandez's wife, brother and the rest of his family were by his hospital bedside throughout most of the day.
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.
Jenne said Hernandez conducted the traffic stop in response to a report of an attempted carjacking. Hernandez was shot on the right side of his head with a .45 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.
Because of the shooting investigation, both east and westbound lanes of Pembroke Road between Interstate 95 and Southwest 40th Avenue were expected to remain closed throughout the evening. Motorists were being advised to seek alternative routes when traveling in the area.[/Quote]
