VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A man accused of shooting a Volusia County deputy twice had a lengthy history of encounters with Central Florida law enforcement officers.
31-year-old Luis Diaz Polanco is now facing two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer for firing 12-shots at deputy José Rivera on Monday.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood says Rivera’s body camera may have saved his life, because it deflected a bullet that would have hit him in the chest. He instead was shot through the shoulder and leg and is now home recovering with his family after he was released from Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach Wednesday.
The shooting followed a history of documented mental health concerns and prior police encounters involving Diaz Polanco. According to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, the Lake Mary Police department had him listed as a “violent schizophrenic bipolar person.”
Records show he was baker acted three times in 2023, meaning he was involuntarily detained and taken for a mental health evaluation because he posed a potential risk to himself or others.
That same year, Lake Mary Police responded to Polanco’s home for at least two battery calls involving his relatives.
During one of the calls, police said his relatives, “locked themselves in a bedroom after Luis attacked them with a wooden stick.”
While the family did not pursue charges, Chitwood addressed the nature of those domestic incidents.
“His mother has been a victim of him beating her. So has his sister,” Chitwood said.
On Wednesday, Channel 9 obtained body camera video from a 2024 arrest.
According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Diaz Polanco was working as a Lyft driver when he became violent with his elderly passengers. In that incident, investigators say he dragged an elderly woman out of his backseat and threw her to the ground.
The State Attorney’s Office stated the victims in that case chose not to press charges.
Then, on July 4 of last year, records show Sanford police also responded to a call where Polanco allegedly threatened a neighbor with a handgun. The victim again declined to press charges, but investigators believe the firearm is the same weapon Diaz Polanco used to shoot Rivera.
According to Mike Chitwood, Diaz Polanco told investigators he bought the weapon from a friend who had legally purchased it, “He claims he bought the gun for 600 bucks off the street of Sanford,” Chitwood said.
According to Chitwood, that friend could face charges for selling the firearm to Diaz Polanco.
Meanwhile, Diaz Polanco is scheduled for a court appearance Friday at 9 a.m. He remains held at the Volusia County Jail.
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