The explosion that killed three Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies on Friday morning was not the first time an aide had died during training.
Sheriff Robert Luna said the explosion at the Biscales Training Center in East Los Angeles marked the most deadly day in the history of the department since 1857.
However, the recent deaths at the training facility occurred last year. When the aide died of burns, he was damaged by a fire that erupted at the shooting range.
Most of the approximately 150 deputies who died in duties were killed under chaotic circumstances. He was shot and stabbed by suspects, struck by friendly fire, collapsed by emotional attacks on work, and killed in car, motorcycle and plane crashes.
Incidents like the Friday explosion in the training centre parking lot are expected to bring more scrutiny and potential legal liability.
The three deceased agents – said to be a specialist unit division veteran – have not been publicly identified. Luna told reporters at a noon press conference that it could take months to get to the bottom of what happened.
The family of the adjutant, who passed away last year, is now suing the sheriff’s department, claiming that negligence from a higher person has created a dangerous environment. State regulators fined the county more than $300,000 for allegedly a safety violation at the shooting range.
Deputies killed at the Viscales Center on Friday were transporting explosive devices collected a day earlier in Santa Monica when they exploded in a parking lot. It exploded in the parking lot.
Luna said the agent was assigned to the department’s arson generator details. He described them as “fantastic experts” who handled many dangerous calls to collect weapons.
The last LA County Sheriff to die on duty succumbed to Burns in April 2024, Alfredo Flores suffered the fire on October 10, 2023.
According to a civil complaint filed by his family against the county, Flores, a 22-year assistant deputy and father of four, had recertified his regular firearms when the range of trailer-styled hit a blaze.
Rangemaster Mark Thorne, who was on duty that day, said he and Flores were locked up in a door packed with. He ran away, but not before suffering “devastating” burns, the complaint said.
The county has not yet responded to either lawsuit.
Flores’ attorneys argue that the sheriff’s department should have known that range was in danger of grabbing fire. The lawyer wrote that gunpowder, lead and other flammable materials had accumulated within the structure. They cited a quote from the state workplace regulator. He wrote that “accumulated propellant” within the shooting range poses a risk of fire.
In 2024, the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health fined the Sheriff’s Department more than $300,000 for alleged violations. Sheriff’s officials sued the quote.
After the fatal fire, the sheriff’s department closed the range trailer, which has been using since the 1980s as an affordable replacement for permanent shooting ranges.
According to a bulletin issued by the Sheriff’s Office, Michael Wigderson was about to disarm an instructor at a sheriff’s facility in East Los Angeles when the instructor’s gun was released from hospital. Don’t put a gun on it.
Wigderson died from a gunshot in his stomach, and his second lieutenant was hit in the arm, the breaking news said.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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