Credit : Volusia Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

Deputy Jose Rivera was shot in the shoulder and leg during a call in Deltona, Fla., on March 2
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Rivera’s body-worn camera took the impact of a bullet to his chest
Suspect Luis Diaz Polanco faces two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer

A Florida deputy survived a close-range shooting after his body-worn camera took the impact of a bullet to his chest, likely saving his life, authorities said.

Volusia County Deputy Jose Rivera was shot in the shoulder and leg Monday night after a suspect opened fire on deputies who had gone to a home on Candler Drive in Deltona to investigate a report of a damaged vehicle, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said during a news conference.

“The bullet hits the body camera dead center,” Chitwood said. “It takes a round through the body camera — which we believe then ricochets through his shoulder. Another shot hits his leg.”

Rivera was rushed to a hospital after the shooting and was released Wednesday, the sheriff said.

Volusia Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Authorities say Rivera and a newly graduated deputy had gone to the home while investigating a report that a woman’s car had been damaged earlier in the day. When deputies approached the house, the suspect — identified as Luis Diaz Polanco — opened fire, according to the sheriff.

“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 the driveway,” Chitwood said.

Chitwood said Polanco fired 12 rounds while Rivera returned fire six times as he retreated.

Volusia Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Body-camera footage released by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office shows other deputies applying a tourniquet to Rivera before rushing him into a patrol car and taking him to the hospital.

Polanco was taken into custody at the home.

Investigators later learned Polanco had used a Spanish-language AI chatbot weeks before the shooting to ask whether he could legally kill someone who came onto his property, Chitwood said.

“AI then gave him a definition of Stand Your Ground and Florida law,” the sheriff said.

According to Chitwood, Polanco later told deputies he had intended to shoot them.

“When the deputies came up to the house, he had every intention to shoot them,” the sheriff said.

Polanco is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer with a firearm and is being held without bond, according to the sheriff.

Rivera, who joined the sheriff’s office in 2023, was released from the hospital Wednesday and is expected to make a full recovery, Chitwood said.

“Deputy Rivera is in great spirits at the hospital with his family by his side,” Chitwood wrote in a post on social media, adding that Rivera is “a father of 3 young kids” and a U.S. Army veteran who already wants to return to work.

VIDEO: https://people.com/body-camera-takes-bullet-florida-deputy-survives-11919845