The Sacramento Bee
YUBA CITY, CA — A Sutter County family with deep roots in law enforcement is facing heartbreaking tragedy after the 3-year-old son of a deputy accidentally shot himself with his father’s service pistol.
The boy, Tyler Whiteaker, died Sunday night in his Yuba City home of a single gunshot to the head, authorities said.
Tyler was the child of Sgt. David Whiteaker, 33, an 11-year veteran of the Sutter County Sheriff’s Department and himself the son of a retired deputy.
David Whiteaker is also the nephew of longtime Sutter County Sheriff Roy Whiteaker, who served 20 years until his defeat in 1990, and the cousin of county Supervisor Jim Whiteaker.
Family members declined to comment Monday.
Emergency personnel were called to the home at 9:14 p.m. Sunday, where they found that the child had sustained a fatal injury. On Monday, it was not yet clear how the gun got into the child’s hands, said Yuba City police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey.
She stressed that David Whiteaker’s position in law enforcement will not affect the investigation.
“The father’s role has no bearing at all on how our investigators approach this case,” she said. “They handled it exactly as they would for any other gun owner.”
Sutter County Sheriff J. Paul Parker said the investigation into Tyler’s death is being handled entirely by the Yuba City Police Department.
“We have taken a hands-off stand,” Parker said. “We don’t want to overlap on their investigation.”
Parker, who was sworn in as the county’s new sheriff Friday, said his close-knit department is reeling from the terrible news.
“We are stunned and in shock — we’re offering up whatever moral support we can give the family,” the sheriff said. “I’ve known Dave Whiteaker a long time — his father retired from here.”
The tragedy also has affected everyone on the small Yuba City police force, according to Pavey.
“Many of our officers know Sgt. Whiteaker and have worked with him for years,” Pavey said. “This is a very close community, and this will be in our hearts and minds forever. It’s been the saddest day I can remember in our department.”
The scene was nightmarish Sunday night around the Whiteakers’ Case Court home, neighbors said, with sirens howling and people crying in the dark. Monday afternoon, however, the cul-de-sac was quiet.
No one answered the door at the Whiteakers’ neat stucco house. A child’s wagon sat near the door.
Nearby, neighbor Richard Salado, 83, was mowing his lawn. He said David Whiteaker has another child, a 1-year-old boy, but Salado said he doesn’t know the family well.
“It’s unfortunate,” the World War II Army veteran said. “Everybody loves their children, but when you play with guns you’ve got to be very careful.”
Copyright 2008 The Sacramento Bee