"It is with a very sad heart that we announce the death of one of our officers tonight," the San Diego Police Department said on Twitter.
The officers were shot during a traffic stop at about 11:00pm on Thursday local time in Southcrest, a south-eastern neighbourhood of San Diego, the San Diego Union Tribune reported.
They were taken to hospitals after the shooting.
One of the officers was shot multiple times and died, and the other was undergoing surgery early Friday, the newspaper reported.
