A public recreation complex in Castaic will now display the name of Ryan Clinkunbroomer after an unveiling ceremony Friday dedicating the complex in the memory of the sheriff’s deputy who was slain in the line of duty in Palmdale.
At the Castaic Sports Complex’s morning ceremony, orchestrated by the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation, the family of the 30-year-old former deputy – who was killed in 2023 at a Sierra Highway intersection in Palmdale – spoke about Ryan’s character and accomplishments before joining the Sheriff’s Department.
The Clinkunbroomer family was joined by county and state officials, including L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, as well as a number of sheriff’s deputies. Annette Kondo, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation, said about 400 people attended.
Ryan was a Boy Scout, a track athlete, a media production student in high school and a graduate of California State University, Northridge. His dad, Mike Clinkunbroomer, told ceremony attendees that the sports complex was a fitting tribute, as it’d been a touchstone for him throughout his childhood.
“Ryan truly loved coming here to the Castaic Sports Complex. Kim or I would drive him here to play basketball, either in a structured league or pickup games outside. Once Ryan obtained his driver’s license, he continued to enjoy this sports complex with his brother Chad and close friend and neighbor Michael Brown,” said Mike, a former lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Department who served 32 years. “This sports complex was an integral and important part of Ryan’s life.”
Mike said that Ryan loved life, and had just experienced a major milestone of young adulthood a few days before his death: He’d proposed to his girlfriend in Newport Beach.
“For those here today, who knew Ryan, I think you’d agree that he was unpretentious,” Mike said. “He was humble, and he didn’t get that from me.”
In the ceremony’s opening statements, Barger said she’d repeatedly heard Ryan described as having integrity and compassion.
“Ryan carried that legacy forward with courage … a field training officer, he didn’t just teach new deputies how to do the job, he showed them how to do it with a heart,” said Barger, who introduced the motion that the Board of Supervisors approved to rename the complex. “He led by example with quiet strength and unwavering dedication to those that he mentored. He was a role model, a friend and a source of inspiration. Today, we ensure that Ryan’s name and the values that he stood for will live on forever.”
Luna spoke ahead of several friends of the Clinkunbroomers, complimenting Ryan’s courage and value of community service.
“I’m telling you right now, there is no better young man. Not only is he as handsome as they come, but it’s what was in his heart that made him an amazing deputy sheriff for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” Luna said. “So mom and dad, Kim, Mike, as parents, we’ve said this over and over, you did an amazing job to raise an extraordinary young man. Thank you. Thank you for sharing him with us. We are so proud to say that he is part, was part, and will continue to be part of our family forever.”
There is no known motive in Ryan’s shooting case: The defense attorney representing the suspect, 31-year-old Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar, has entered a not guilty plea by reason of insanity. That trial is set to begin this summer.
After the ceremony, Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, said he’d been especially struck by Mike’s words about what he wanted the dedication to mean to visitors.
“What struck me was deputy Clinkunbroomer’s father’s comments, where he said, ‘I hope when you drive through (the sports complex), you have a smile before you have a tear,’” Whitesides said. “That’s so powerful, and so representative of this family.”
