Deputy Fires Gunshot

Valley Springs, CA — A man was shot at in Valley Springs Sunday morning after pointing a shotgun at a Calaveras County Sheriff’s deputy.

The deputy was responding to a disturbance call on Pelican Place. When the deputy pulled up to the residence, the man with the gun (26-year-old Michael Garner Ward) pointed it towards the patrol vehicle. The deputy fired his gun towards Ward, but did not hit him. A witness then disarmed Ward and helped the deputy take him into custody.

The deputy received some minor ear injuries from shooting within a confined space (patrol vehicle) and was treated and released from Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital. The deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is department policy when a gunshot is fired.