Deputy Sheriff Adam Gibson
Officer: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Sheriff Adam Gibson
Date: 1/18/2021 Location: Cal Expo, CA FACTORS (1,2,3,4,5,8,9,13,14,15,21)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Robert Stephen Calderon
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, besides being an admitted gang member, Calderon’s criminal record stretched across three states and included felony assault, felony evasion, stealing vehicles, DWI, and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon./Yes, Calderon was on parole, suspected of committing burglaries, fled from the deputies, and shot them with an illegally possessed firearm.
Mental Illness: Yes, Calderon’s family stated he was bipolar, and on at least two previous occasions he wanted to die by suicide by cop.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Yes, Calderon’s family reported that he used drugs and he served time for possession of methamphetamine./Yes, Calderon had methamphetamine on him.
Race/Sex/Age: Latino/Male/46
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 10:07 p.m. on January 18, 2021, deputies approached a vehicle matching the description of a vehicle involved in recent burglaries and made contact with Robert Calderon, whom they learned was on parole.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Calderon drove away from the deputies taking them on a chase until his vehicle became disabled when he ran over a curb and crashed into a fence. Calderon then refused to exit his vehicle as the deputies ordered and instead reached into a backpack.
Reactions by the police: The deputies shot out the windows on Calderon’s vehicle with bean bags and deployed K-9 Riley through one of the windows while they formed behind a shield and approached the driver’s side of the vehicle. Using the gun he accessed from that backpack, Calderon fatally shot K-9 Riley and then at the deputies, fatally striking Deputy Gibson and hitting another deputy. The other deputies returned fire and killed Calderon.
How murdered? Deputy Gibson was shot while attempting to remove Calderon from his vehicle.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? When Calderon was seen reaching into the backpack in the vehicle the deputies could have reasonably believed he was accessing a weapon and shot him.
Would the officer had been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Yes, the deputies could have justifiably shot Calderon when he ignored the deputies’ commands to exit the vehicle and reached into the backpack inside his vehicle.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Calderon was justifiably shot and killed by deputies at the scene.
Miscellaneous: Calderon was a career criminal with mental issues, he should have either still been behind bars or supervised in a mental institution. Video of the incident is available.
