Sam Martello of WFTV Channel 9 says a piece of gear most deputies don’t exactly love wearing just played the role of a life-saving barrier in Deltona. In a close-range gunfight, a Volusia County deputy’s body camera took a bullet that was headed toward his chest – and the sheriff says it likely prevented a fatal wound.
The deputy, José Rivera, was shot twice while investigating an assault Monday evening, according to Martello’s report. He was hit in the shoulder and leg, but the third round struck the chest-mounted body cam positioned over his heart area. Rivera is expected to make a full recovery.
Martello reports that Sheriff Mike Chitwood described Rivera as doing exactly what he was trained to do – and then got blunt about how rare it is for a deputy to walk away from a gunfight that tight.
“Dead Center”: Sheriff Describes A Gunfight Under Six Feet
Speaking to Channel 9, Sheriff Chitwood said the gunfight happened at a distance of less than six feet, the kind of distance where there’s almost no time to think, no time to reposition, and no space to make mistakes.
Chitwood called the body-cam hit a “chest shot” and said the device was sitting “dead center,” which is why he credits it with saving Rivera’s life. He also gave the moment a spiritual framing, saying you don’t doubt God when you’re watching a gunfight happen that close and a piece of equipment stops a round aimed at someone’s heart.
It’s a dramatic detail, but it also rings true in a very practical way: at close range, a body cam isn’t just evidence. It’s a chunk of hard material mounted right where people get shot.
The Call That Brought Them To The Door
Martello reports Rivera wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by a trainee deputy, Jacob Gomez Lopez, described as a recent academy graduate.
According to Chitwood’s account as relayed by Martello, the deputies went to Luis Diaz Polanco’s home while investigating an assault tied to a reported threat involving a family friend. When they arrived, things moved quickly.
The sheriff says Polanco deadbolted the front door and moved toward the back of the home. Rivera then had the trainee deputy move around to cover the rear, a basic “don’t let him slip out the back” step that most people would recognize from any police training scenario.
That detail matters because it shows the deputies were trying to do the “textbook” thing: one at the front, one covering the rear, controlled contact, controlled movement.
But the situation didn’t stay controlled.
“A Tan Glock”: The Sheriff Says The Suspect Opened Fire
According to Martello’s report, Sheriff Chitwood said Polanco turned back toward the front, opened the door where Rivera was positioned, and produced a handgun.
Chitwood described it as a tan Glock that Polanco took out of a box. Then, the suspect allegedly approached and engaged Rivera in a gunfight right at the front door.
Martello says the sheriff estimated both men fired roughly four to six shots each during the exchange. Rivera was struck twice – shoulder and leg – and the third round hit the body cam in the chest area.
That sequence is the kind of thing that makes your stomach tighten because it’s not a chase across a parking lot or a distant exchange. It’s front-door distance, where someone can go from “talking” to “shooting” in a second.
The Body Cam Hit And Why It Matters
Martello’s reporting frames the body camera strike as the hinge point of the entire story. Sheriff Chitwood says the body cam stopped the bullet aimed at Rivera’s heart area, and he credits that device for preventing what could have been the third wound – the one that ends the story in the worst way.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: law enforcement body cams are mostly discussed as accountability tools, and that’s fair. But this story is a reminder they can also be literal life insurance in hard plastic form.
It’s also a reminder of how chaotic real shootings are. Even when both sides are firing multiple rounds, outcomes can pivot on inches – where a device sits, what angle a shot takes, what a bullet hits first.
If Rivera’s camera had been mounted a little higher, a little lower, or if he’d turned half a step at the wrong time, we might be reading a memorial story instead of a recovery update.
The Charges Confusion And A New Court Listing
One part Martello flags as “developing” is the suspect’s charging status.
She reports that when she spoke with the sheriff the night before, she was told Polanco would face attempted murder charges. But by the next morning, Martello says she located the suspect on the court’s website and saw a listing indicating first-degree murder.
That’s a massive difference in wording, and Martello notes she reached out to the sheriff’s office for clarification. In her live shot, she’s careful not to overstate what it means, but she’s also clear about what she found and why it raised questions.
This kind of confusion can happen early in cases when paperwork updates, charges evolve, or separate events get folded into a single filing. Still, it’s the sort of detail that makes people pay attention, because it hints that investigators and prosecutors may be looking at something bigger than what first got said out loud.
A Deputy Recovering, A Trainee Watching It All
Martello reports Rivera is recovering and is expected to fully heal, which is the simplest part of the story and also the most important. Whatever you think about law enforcement or body cams or the politics surrounding them, a person surviving a close-range shooting is a relief.
It’s also impossible to ignore what this probably did to the trainee deputy, Jacob Gomez Lopez, who was there for a moment that will sit in his memory forever. Learning the job is one thing; seeing your field training turn into a gunfight at the door is another.
If there’s a “lesson” embedded here, it’s not a preachy one. It’s just reality: sometimes the danger shows up fast, and sometimes the difference between “injured” and “killed” is the thickness of a device clipped to your chest.
Martello ends where a lot of breaking reports end – with a promise of more facts coming.
She notes the scene in Deltona was still active behind her, and she said her team was working to dig into the suspect’s background and prior run-ins with law enforcement, based on what the sheriff had indicated.
For now, what her report makes clear is this:
Deputy José Rivera got hit twice, survived, and a third round slammed into his body camera instead of his heart.
And in a gunfight measured in feet, that’s the kind of detail you don’t forget.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
