Police seek suspect in fatal shooting of Fijian American police officer

ASAM NEWS

AUTHORITIES IN CALIFORNIA are asking residents to be on the lookout for a man who shot and killed a police officer in California's Central Valley town of Newman.

KCBS Radio reports the suspect is believed to have shot the officer during a traffic stop at 1 a.m. Wednesday (Dec. 26).

The officer has been identified as Newman Police officer Ronil Singh, a native of Fiji who has been with the department since 2011.

Singh could be heard screaming “shots fired,” over his police radio. When officers arrived, they found him wounded. Emergency units rushed Singh to the hospital where he later would die.

“Our Newman Police family is devastated by the loss of Ronil,” said Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson. “If anyone has any information regarding the identity of the suspect, please contact law enforcement immediately so we can get this cop-killer off the streets.”

The suspect is described as an Hispanic man, heavyset, with close-cropped black hair. He was last seen driving a silver Dodge Ram 1500 extended-cab pickup truck, model year 2002 to 2009. The truck did not have a license plate, but instead had an “AR Auto” sign where the license normally would be.An uncle, Ugesh Yogi Singh, said in a Facebook post that his nephew had been “working overtime on Christmas night to provide the best for his family,” referring to the slain officer as “my adventurous nephew” and “my family’s action hero.”

Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Raj Singh told KCRA-TV that he knew the Officer Ronil Singh.

"He was living the American dream. He immigrated here from the Fiji islands, just like my parents did, and was definitely enjoying the American dream," Deputy Raj Singh said. "(He) loved camping. He loved hunting. He loved fishing. He loved his family. He loved visiting them back in Fiji. He loved having his family come over here."

A resident of northeast Modesto, Ronil Singh is survived by his wife, Anamika, and their 5-month-old son.

The police are seeking the suspect as seen here by security cameras.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
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