JULY 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 7

AROUND THE COUNTRY EL

AROUND THE COUNTRY EL MONTE, CA IN MOURNING Two El Monte Police Officers killed in shootout near California motel. EL MONTE, CA – Two El Monte police officers were shot and killed Tuesday, June 14th while on a domestic disturbance call to a motel and now the community and law enforcement across California are in mourning. The officers were identified as Cpl. Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana. The officers responded to a possible stabbing at the Siesta Inn near Garvey and Central avenues just before 5 p.m. Tuesday and were immediately confronted with a man who began firing at them inside a motel room, according to Deputy David Yoo, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff’s Department was assisting El Monte Police with the investigation. The suspect identified as Justin Flores, fled the room to the parking lot, where more gunfire was exchanged. The suspect was hit by gunfire and died at the scene, detectives said. A handgun thought to be the suspect’s was recovered. Authorities confirmed the male suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. A body covered by a sheet could be seen in the parking lot. The two officers were rushed to LA County-USC Medical Center, where they died from their injuries. Officials said the two officers had been ambushed. The Sheriff’s Department later confirmed that the call to the motel was for “a welfare check of a possible female stabbed at the location.” El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona held a press conference Tuesday night to discuss the shooting. Ancona said: “They were acting as a first line of defense for our community members when they were essentially ambushed while trying to keep a family safe.” Officials said a woman involved in the call about a possible stabbing was the suspect’s girlfriend and is being interviewed by detectives. She was not injured in the incident. A joint statement was released Tuesday night by the city of El Monte, the El Monte Police Department and the El Monte Police Officers Association. It said: “There are no words to describe our grief and devastation by this senseless act as we learned about the passing of two of our police officers. It weighs heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families. We would also like to thank the El Monte community and our surrounding government agencies for the outpouring support we have received in the last few hours.” El Monte interim Police Chief Ben Lowry called the officers heroes. He spoke outside the hospital: “These two men were loved. They were good men. They paid the ultimate sacrifice, serving their community trying to help somebody.” He said somberly: “Today, they were murdered Corporal Michael Domingo Paredes by a coward and we are grieving and that hurts.” A procession of police vehicles with lights on began shortly after 11 p.m. as officers with the El Monte Police Department escorted the officers’ bodies from the hospital to the L.A. County Coroner’s office. Former longtime El Monte Mayor Andre Quintero, who served from 2009 to 2020, offered his condolences. He stated: “I’m completely devastated to learn about the shooting of two of El Monte’s Police officers. Details are still being investigated and reported. The mother of Officer Santana says had District Attorney George Gascón done his job, her son would be alive. Gascón, who has come under fire over the disposition of a 2021 criminal case against a man who fatally shot two El Monte police officers last week, defended his office’s handling of the matter Tuesday, saying the suspect had no history of violence before the shooting and insisted a plea agreement that allowed the man to avoid jail time was “appropriate under the circumstances.’’ “He was basically someone who had been drug addicted for many years,” said Gascón during a news conference. As the investigation continues, critics of Gascón have loudly lashed out at the district attorney, noting that Flores -- a felon with a history of arrests -- was given a plea deal last year that allowed him to avoid prison time for being in possession of a firearm. As a result of the plea, charges of methamphetamine possession and being a felon in possession of ammunition were dropped, Officer Joseph Anthony Santana and Flores was placed on two years’ probation, and 20 days in jail. “The outcome in this particular case, given what we knew then, no history of violence, very little contact with the criminal justice system for nearly 10 years, was appropriate,” said Gascón. Last week, Santana’s mother lashed out at Gascón, saying his “insane ideas’’ allowed the gunman to remain out of jail and free to murder her son. “I blame the death of my son and his partner on Gascón,’’ said Olga Garcia. “Gascón will never know how I feel. Gascón will never know how he destroyed our families. He won’t know how [Santana’s] children feel. Crime is so high in California because criminals don’t stay in jail long enough. We need to make criminals responsible for their actions. We need law and order.” 22 The BLUES The BLUES 23