Man who ambushed, murdered Sacramento police officer Tara O'Sullivan sentenced to death

What we know from the DA.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man who ambushed and murdered Sacramento Police Department Officer Tara O'Sullivan was sentenced to the death penalty Friday.

Adel Ramos opened fire at O'Sullivan on June 19, 2019, while she and four other officers were handling a domestic violence situation along Redwood Avenue in the north Sacramento area.

After O'Sullivan was shot, Ramos kept other officers from pulling O'Sullivan to safety by continuing to fire at them. It took nearly an hour before they were able to retrieve her. She later died at the hospital.

Ramos has a history of domestic violence restraining orders, along with being charged with DUI and battery on a minor in the past, according to court records.

Jurors struggled to agree on a death penalty verdict, initially leading to a mistrial.

While a death penalty verdict has been reached, it is unlikely he will actually be executed because Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions. That ban is in effect indefinitely until either he removes it or the next governor after him does so.

The last execution carried out by California was on Jan. 17, 2006.

O'Sullivan was 26 years old when she died in the line of duty. She grew up in the East Bay community of Pleasant Hill, and she graduated from College Park High School in 2011 and Sacramento State in 2017 from the Law Enforcement Candidate Scholars program.

She graduated from the Sacramento Police Department academy in December 2018 and was in phase training when she died. Officers described her as a "bright and rising star" in the department.