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  • AUTUMN CRUZ / acruz@sacbee.com

    A dozen or more blocks were cordoned off near Grand and South avenues in Del Paso Heights on Saturday as law officers searched for a suspect in the shooting of a Twin Rivers police officer.

  • Tyrone Smith struggled as he was arrested, police say, and passed out during a trip in a patrol car.

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Suspect dies after arrest

Published: Monday, Oct. 24, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 - 8:02 pm

A suspect arrested late Saturday in the shooting of an officer with the Twin Rivers Police Department died while in Sacramento police custody, city police officials confirmed late Sunday.

The death of Tyrone Smith, 32, occurred shortly before midnight Saturday – within an hour of his arrest by the Sacramento Police Department.

Acting Sacramento Deputy Police Chief Dana Matthes said the suspect in the shooting had struggled with officers before being placed into custody at 11:10 p.m. in the 3500 block of Branch Street. But she said officers "acted appropriately and used minimal force" in the arrest.

Authorities waited more than 18 hours before confirming the suspect died.

Matthes explained that police declined to make the information public because they hadn't contacted the suspect's family.

Officers noticed the suspect was unresponsive while taking him to police headquarters in south Sacramento, Matthes said.

She said the officers pulled off Highway 99 to a parking lot near Fruitridge Road and Franklin Boulevard.

After finding no pulse, officers administered CPR and requested medical aid from the Sacramento Fire Department. They took the suspect to the UC Davis Medical Center where Smith was pronounced dead.

In a statement issued earlier in the evening, police said the case is being investigated by the city Police Department, the city's Office of Public Safety Accountability and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. The officers who took Smith into custody are on paid administrative leave, consistent with department policy.

The Twin Rivers Police Department officer, who has not been identified, survived and is recovering after surgery.

Smith was the subject of a manhunt by more than a half dozen agencies Saturday after authorities said he fired shots, striking the 25-year-old Twin Rivers officer, who had less than two years on the job.

Matthes said that after the shooting, a police perimeter was established around the neighborhood north of downtown Sacramento.

The department relied on tips from the community and the description of the suspect's vehicle to narrow the search. Late Saturday, the suspect was sighted near Branch Street, put under a spotlight glare from a helicopter and ordered to the ground.

The suspect tried twice to flee, Matthes said. On the second effort, officers made contact and all stumbled to the ground, she said. But she said there were no apparent injuries to the suspect.

Smith was placed in the car and police began driving him to headquarters in the 5700 block of Freeport Boulevard.

Police said the shooting occurred after the Twin Rivers officer attempted a traffic stop on Roanoke Avenue in the north area.

On Sunday, the officer was reported to be in pain but "awake, talking and in good spirits," said William Cho, spokesman for the Twin Rivers Police Department.

Cho credited quick response by the city Fire Department with saving the officer's life.

He said firefighters were on an unrelated call nearby when they heard gunfire. Instead of waiting for a call, as is customary, they headed in the direction of the gunshots. By the time they arrived, they had been notified of the reason for the gunfire: An officer was down, Cho said.

Firefighters were the first to find him, some distance from his car, Cho said.

"It's a possibility we could have lost him ... he could have bled out," Cho said.

They got to him almost immediately.

"I can't tell you how grateful the chief and everyone is. It was very somber when we weren't sure he was going to make it. Those guys (at Station 17) are heroes."

Twin Rivers was created in 2008 when three elementary districts – Rio Linda, Del Paso and North Sacramento – merged with the Grant high school district. The district patrols within three counties Sacramento, Placer and Sutter, according to the district website.

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