Deputy injured in ambush has ‘deep desire to serve others’
Member of Santa Cruz County sheriff’s office joined force with idea of giving back
Injured sheriff’s Deputy Sheriff Alex Spencer had been preparing for crises like the one he faced Saturday in Ben Lomond since playing football at Soquel High School in the 2000s.
Even as a teenager, Spencer, now 32, wanted to work in law enforcement.
Friends recalled Tuesday how Spencer embraced the role of serving others, whether it was his football teammates, colleagues at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office or the public.
“He radiated a deep desire to serve others,” said Greg Amundson, a former Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy who owns a CrossFit studio where Spencer works out and trains others.
The Sheriff’s Office has not identified Spencer as one of the officers injured when responding to a call about a white van with guns and explosives inside. But a GoFundMe page created for Spencer went public Monday.
Friends on Tuesday confirmed Spencer, the father of one young boy, is the officer who escaped after getting shot in the chest, suffering wounds from bomb fragments and being struck by the fleeing suspect’s car.
Amundson, an ordained minister who married Spencer and his wife, Dorie, said he visited the deputy at an undisclosed hospital hours after the incident and found him in good spirits.
Family members declined to comment Tuesday, referring inquiries to the Sheriff’s Office.
Friends said Spencer always put others first and saw his work as a K-9 sheriff’s deputy as a way to give back to the community where he was reared.
It’s the Spencer family business, friends said. Older brother Brad Spencer, who also played football at Soquel High, is a firefighter with the Santa Cruz Central Fire Protection District. The brothers sometimes were called into action for the same emergency, friends said.
Spencer’s actions offer another side of law enforcement at a time of intense protests against racism in America since the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
On Saturday, investigators said suspect Steven Carrillo ambushed two deputies with gunfire and pipe bombs after they walked toward his house. Spencer’s sergeant, Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was killed.
Sheriff Jim Hart said in a news conference Monday that
Spencer was saved by a bulletproof vest, but the powerful round from an assault rifle caused “significant internal trauma.” Spencer also suffered wounds from bomb fragments and from being run down by the suspect’s car, Hart confirmed, adding that the officer was in stable condition.
Spencer grew up in Soquel as a sports enthusiast, friends said. He played water polo in junior high school, but once he got to high school he fell in love with football. He played for the Knights all four years, including varsity in 2004 and ’05.
“The nature of the position he played was one of protector,” former Soquel coach Ron Myers said of his 6-foot-2, 255-pound lineman. “He was the unsung hero, the guy who was down there in the middle of it all, doing his job.”
Spencer attended Sacramento State after graduating from high school in 2006, friends said. He wanted to continue playing football but instead transferred to Chico State, where he graduated with a degree in exercise physiology and biomechanics.
Amundson said Spencer began working at CrossFit in 2013, focusing on power weightlifting and kettlebell, which is a metal ball that is used in different types of exercises. Amundson said Spencer also now coaches other officers for the Sheriff’s Office.
Spencer also did security work at the popular Santa Cruz Harbor restaurant, the Crow’s Nest. Sara Aluffi, a manager at the restaurant for 24 years, recalled how comforting Spencer’s presence was.
“Security is put in awkward situations, and sometimes they have to have hard conversations” with unruly customers,” she said. “He did it with a smile.”
Friends said Spencer was determined to pursue law enforcement. Myers thought his protégé would have made a good coach after watching him work with the Soquel High linemen one season. Myers, who retired in 2019 after 47 years of coaching, mostly at Soquel and Watsonville highs, encouraged Spencer to consider following his career path.
But Spencer was determined to answer his calling.
In 2014, he joined the California Peace Officers Standards and Training Police Academy as a Santa Cruz sheriff’s recruit. Four years ago, Spencer joined the K-9 unit with Murph, a canine that specialized in patrol apprehension and explosive location.
“He was the guy who always did what he said he would do,” Myers said. “He was the guy we needed there at that moment” on Saturday.
Amundson said they train the mind and spirit as well as the body at his CrossFit studio.
“He took the training to the next level,” Amundson said.
The fitness expert said that the balanced preparation allows law enforcement officers “to serve and protect and help others in times of crisis.
“And that’s exactly what Alex did.”