By Alene Tchekmedyian
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — The family of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who died after a mobile shooting range erupted in flames is suing the Sheriff’s Department for wrongful death, alleging that its failure to properly clean the trailer resulted in hazardous conditions that led to the explosion.
Lawyers for the family of Alfredo “Freddy” Flores, a 22-year veteran of the department, said Monday that the Sheriff’s Department failed to comply with orders by state regulators to inspect and clean the trailers, creating “unreasonably dangerous” conditions for the deputy when he showed up for a mandated firearm skills test in October 2023.
“This never should have happened,” John Carpenter, an attorney representing the Flores family, told reporters at a news conference Monday after filing the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. “It was done with deliberate indifference by the county, and it has to stop.”
The family is requesting that the Sheriff’s Department be prohibited from using mobile shooting ranges and is also seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
Flores, he said, was supposed to “be in his comfort zone” inside a training facility, which was parked near the Castaic jail complex. The lawsuit alleges that the buildup of unburned gunpowder residue, lead and other combustible material caused the deadly explosion. Flores sustained severe burns and was hospitalized for six months until his death.
Flores’ widow, Margarita Gonzales Flores, sat nearby, at times fighting tears. In a prepared statement, she and their four children, who range in age from 9 to 25, said the loss has left a tremendous void in their lives.
“With this lawsuit, we seek answers to our questions and accountability for the tragic incident that took him from our lives,” the statement said. “We also want to ensure that no other deputies lose their lives in this way because no family should have to go through the devastation that our family has had to face and continues to face every day.”
The Sheriff’s Department said in a statement late Monday afternoon that the investigation is still ongoing but that federal and sheriff’s officials have “preliminarily determined that the nature of the fire is accidental.”
“As a proactive measure, all mobile shooting ranges across the county remained closed while they investigate,” the statement said, noting that deputies are using other law enforcement ranges or its outdoor one to maintain their firearm qualifications. “Our Department is deeply saddened by this tragic incident, which took the life of a dedicated and respected member of our Department family, someone who faithfully served our community with pride and commitment.”
The family’s lawsuit also names the mobile range manufacturer as a defendant, alleging that the facility was poorly designed. Inveris Training Solutions did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Times previously reported that the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited the Sheriff’s Department with violations dating back to 2021 for skipping inspections, neglecting maintenance and failing to keep proper records.
Carpenter said the Sheriff’s Department has long known about the dangers of the mobile ranges, which have caught fire at least three times in the past.
In 2016, a contractor working on a trailer parked at the department’s Tactics and Survival Training Center sparked a blaze while using a metal grinder. Three years later, a mobile trailer caught fire during a training exercise, when a non-explosive device used to simulate a stun grenade started a fire that engulfed the trailer. All the deputies escaped injury.
Also in 2019, a trailer parked near the Castaic jail complex caught fire. Officials said the cause was a contractor with a power tool.
“We want them to stop exposing our deputies and our law enforcement to this deadly threat,” Carpenter said. The lawsuit also alleges that inmates in L.A. County jail were allowed to clean and help maintain the trailers.
Despite promises from the Sheriff’s Department to get to the bottom of what happened in Flores’ case, Carpenter said, a year and a half has passed and the deputy’s family still has not been informed about the results of the investigation.
“We still have no assurances that it’s not going to happen again,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Department has used mobile shooting ranges since the 1980s so that deputies can conveniently test their firearms skills while the agency can avoid paying them overtime to spend a day driving to a shooting range at a fixed location.
Carpenter criticized the Sheriff Department’s reliance on mobile ranges to save on cost.
“It’s done to save money,” he said. “It’s not worth it. It’s not even close.”
The 50- to 53-foot mobile structures feature several shooting lanes overseen by a range master. The interior walls are covered with soundproofing foam, and a thick rubber or metal plate known as a bullet trap sits behind the target.
As with other indoor ranges, shooting trailers require regular cleaning to prevent a dangerous buildup of lead and gunpowder.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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