SWAT officer shot in head during San Gabriel operation dies

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Community members gather for a prayer vigil to honor Pomona Police SWAT Officer Shaun Diamond, who died a day after being shot while on duty. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Chris Lewis, Pomona Police SWAT Officer Shaun Diamond’s partner, embraces his wife, Cynthia Lewis, as they join community members in a prayer vigil to honor Diamond. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Chris Armijo, center, along with fellow EMTs from Schaefer Ambulance Service, light their candles before the start of a prayer vigil to honor Pomona Police SWAT Officer Shaun Diamond who died a day after being shot while on duty. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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David Martinez appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment on capital murder charges in the shooting death of a Pomona police SWAT officer Shaun Diamond was postponed. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Pomona Police Chief Paul Capraro, left, and Deputy Chief Michael Olivieri Jr. leave the coroner’s office after escorting the body of Pomona SWAT officer Shaun Diamond, who was fatally shot while serving a warrant in San Gabriel. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Pomona police Officer David Sevesind holds the flag before placing it inside a SWAT vehicle outside the coroner’s office after escorting the body of SWAT officer Shaun Diamond on Wednesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Bloodied safety gear lies on the road at the scene where a Pomona police SWAT officer was shot early Tuesday while assisting with a search warrant operation in San Gabriel. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement investigators at the scene where a Pomona police SWAT officer was shot early Tuesday while assisting with a search warrant operation in San Gabriel. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County sheriff’s department officers and other law enforcement investigators gather around the bloodied safety gear at the scene where a Pomona police SWAT officer was shot early Tuesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Bloodied safety gear lies on the road at the scene where a Pomona police SWAT officer was shot early Tuesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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An unidentified man sits in a squad car as Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers investigate the shooting of a Pomona police SWAT officer early Tuesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

By Veronica Rocha

Oct. 29, 2014 8:59 AM PT

A Pomona police SWAT officer shot in the back of the head while serving a search warrant in San Gabriel has died, authorities said.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must deliver the news that early this morning Pomona police SWAT Officer Shaun Diamond had succumbed to his injuries,” the Pomona Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.

Diamond, 45, was hospitalized early Tuesday at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena after authorities said he was shot by 36-year-old David Martinez during a predawn search warrant operation that was part of a investigation into a motorcycle gang.

In the predawn hours Wednesday, dozens of officers escorted Diamond’s body from the hospital to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office near downtown Los Angeles.

Martinez, who remains in custody, is due in court Thursday.

Diamond was a 16-year law enforcement veteran, having also served with the LAPD and Montebello police. He joined the Pomona police in 2006 and was a member of the SWAT team since 2008.

His mother, Joy Diamond, told KTLA that he was steady, reliable and kind-hearted despite cutting an imposing figure.

He also worked in police outreach efforts at Special Olympics events and participated in SWAT demonstrations for schoolchildren.

“He was supposed to fix my car today. I can’t imagine life, I can’t image Christmas or Thanksgiving....” she said. “We’re lucky to have him as long as we did, and I have to hang on to that.”

Diamond is the fourth law enforcement officer in California to be killed in the line of duty in less than a week. Two sheriff’s deputies from Sacramento and Placer counties were killed Friday during a gunman’s rampage through Northern California.

On Tuesday, Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Eugene Kostiuchenko was killed on the 101 Freeway when he was struck by a motorist who authorities said was driving while intoxicated. The suspect fled the scene but was later arrested, officials said.

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at veronica.rocha@latimes.com