Employees of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office were in shock this week after one of their deputies died unexpectedly while on duty Saturday night.

Aubrey Phillips, 36, was patrolling in Dublin when she made a traffic enforcement stop at approximately 1:46 a.m. on Feb. 12, a sheriff’s spokesperson said.

Deputy Phillips had just arrested the driver of the vehicle and was seated back in her patrol car when she “suffered a severe and acute medical emergency,” the department said. Another officer began life-saving efforts and called for emergency medical services. Phillips was taken to a hospital in Pleasanton where she was listed in critical condition. From there she was transferred to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek for life-saving intervention.

“Tragically, medical professionals were unable to save her life and she passed away,” the sheriff’s spokesperson said.

Phillips, a registered organ donor, was a five-year veteran of the agency and assigned as a midnight shift patrol officer in the city of Dublin. She is the daughter of an honorably retired Alameda County Deputy Sheriff and her husband is currently a sheriff in the same department. She and her husband have three young children.

“This tragic event has touched each member of this agency,” said Sheriff Gregory Ahern. “Aubrey’s short life will live on even after her passing. Aubrey will continue to serve her community by giving the gift of life to others in need. She was truly a remarkable person and served this agency and Alameda County with dignity and honor.”

The Sheriff’s Office will be providing peer support and counseling to its members impacted by her loss, a spokesperson said.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.