The family of slain deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Board of Supervisors.
Deputy Clinkunbroomer was shot and killed on Sept. 16 in his patrol vehicle near the Palmdale Sheriff’s station.
Attorney Brad Gage represents the Clinkunbroomer family. He told L.A.’s Morning News that the county contributed to Clinkunbroomer’s death because of the way it overworks its employees.
“They know that when the employees are being forced to have this much overtime, they're exhausted, their senses are dulled and they become likely victims of these types of tragedies,” he said. “And that's exactly what happened here. Ryan had worked 69 hours of overtime and a two-week period on top of his 80-hour two-week workweek. So he was at 149 hours in two weeks before he died.”
Gage argued that when officers are overworked it creates not just a danger to the officers, but a danger to the community.
“It means that officers don't have the ability to make split-second decisions that they need to make for a life and death of themselves and others. It can lead to all kinds of tragedy, ” he said. “And the county has known for years that the mandatory overtime - the fact that they're down by about 2000 deputies - does create dangers and risks. It's something that they were willing to accept, which now has led to tragedy.”
Gage claimed that he heard from several deputies who are interested in “getting protected” because of the overtime.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department released the following statement to Fox 11 News:
"The senseless ambush murder of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer was the epitome of evil and the Department continues to mourn his death. We lost a valued member of our Department family who was committed to serving our communities. The Sheriff’s Department remains committed to securing a successful prosecution against the individual responsible for Ryan’s murder. Our thoughts continue to remain with the entire Clinkunbroomer family."
Kevin Salazar, 29, was arrested in connection to Clinkunbroomer’s death. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
A press conference regarding the lawsuit will take place Tuesday at 11 a.m.
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