Indian-origin law enforcement officer in US charged with staging fake shooting

A 27yearold Indianorigin law enforcement officer in the US state of California has been arrested for allegedly faking a shocking driveby shooting incident last year following which he was hailed as a hero who had a miraculous escape authorities have announcedSukhdeep Gill who held the post of Deputy at Santa Clara County Sheriffrsquos Office was arrested on Friday as he on January 31 2020 had reported that he was shot from a passing car as he stood on a rural roadFollowing the incident when the officers responded no serious injuries were found on Gill and it appeared that he had been shot only once on his body camera which was destroyed the report said citing a statement issued by the district attorneyrsquos officeGills report triggered a manhunt for the alleged shooterGill told officers that he had parked on the dirt shoulder to urinate during a routine patrol While walking back towards the driver side of his patrol car he was shot at by the passenger in a silver sedan that had turned off its lights as it approached himHowever the 27yearold deputyrsquos story fell apart during an intensive investigation the Office of the District Attorney County of Santa Clara said in a press releaseGill has been charged with staging a shocking ambush in which he said he was shot from a passing car as he stood on a dark rural road near Morgan Hill the release saidNow Gill ndash who has been with the Sheriffsrsquo Office since 2016 ndash is charged with felony vandalism and falsely reporting a crime a misdemeanour He faces incarceration if convicted it saidGill was arrested on Friday after a warrant was issued it saidldquoThis case is bewildering and deeply disappointingrdquo District Attorney Jeff Rosen said ldquoDeputy Gillrsquos actions abused the trust of his fellow officers and diverted public safety resources away from protecting the community to investigate a madeup crimerdquoGill was released on his own recognisance and has a court appearance scheduled for March 1 CNN reportedGills attorney Nicole Pifari issued a brief statement that said For now all I can say is we are looking forward to getting our hands on the investigation and the evidence to understand why these charges are being pursuedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever