On Mar. 26, law enforcement officers from numerous jurisdictions were serving a warrant in Olivehurst of Yuba County, CA when a member of the SWAT force was shot and killed. 

Just before 8:00 am, law enforcement was executing a search warrant at Kestrel court; one of 20 warrants being executed in Yuba county and the surrounding Sutter, Tehama, and Butte counties as part of a transnational drug-trafficking bust. Yuba County Sheriff Wendell Anderson stated that gunfire was exchanged between law enforcement and the suspect upon entry. 

One of the members of the SWAT team was struck during the exchange and later passed away at a hospital in Marysville. He was identified as 27-year-old Officer Osmar Rodarte. The Police Chief of the Marysville Police Department said that Rodarte was a 2-year veteran of the Maryville Police Force and a U.S. Army veteran. 

A procession was held in Rodarte’s honor, starting at the Lakeside Memorial Chapel and ending at the morgue. Marysville officers returned to their duties Mar. 31 after a few days to mourn the loss of their fallen fellow officer. 

The sheriff’s office shared that the suspect was shot during the gunfire at the home. The suspect was identified as 61-year-old Rick David Oliver. He was pronounced dead inside the residence. Another individual was detained at the scene, but they have since been released, their identification remaining undisclosed. 

The Yuba-Sutter Officer Involved Shooting squad is set to launch an investigation on the proceedings at Kestrel Court, and more information should be released surrounding the drug trafficking. 

Officer Rodarte’s death marks the first Maryville officer to be killed in the line of duty in more than 100 years.