Fla. Sheriff: Body Camera Saved Deputy's Life During Shooting

A Florida deputy was wounded in a shooting Monday, and his sheriff says his body-worn camera probably saved his life.

The incident happened when Volusia County Sheriff's Deputy Jose Rivera and his deputy trainee, who had only been on the street for eight days, were investigating an assault/battery outside a home at about 4:30 a.m. in Deltona, the sheriff's office stated in a news release. During the investigation, they tried to talk with a man—later identified as Luis Diaz Polanco.

When Polanco returned inside the home, a deputy went to the back of the house to make sure Polanco wouldn't try to leave out the back door. Instead, Polanco returned through the front door carrying a handgun.

Polanco began firing, and Rivera was struck in the leg and the shoulder. The shoulder wound was caused when a round struck and ricocheted off his chest-mounted body camera.

Rivera was pulled to safety by his fellow deputies and rushed to the hospital. He was stabilized before being airlifted to a Daytona Beach hospital. 

Rivera is expected to make a full recovery, according to the sheriff's office.

Polanco was subsequently taken into custody by deputies. He faces an attempted murder charge. 

"I can't say enough about the deputies," Sheriff Mike Chitwood said during a news conference. 

Chitwood displayed the damaged body camera during the conference. He said the device saved Rivera's life and called it "divine intervention."

"If you don't believe in God, things like this make you believe in God," he said.