A state investigation into how three Los Angeles County sheriff\u2019s bomb squad detectives were killed by a grenade in a department parking lot has found a series of \u201cwillful\u201d safety violations, including failure to provide effective training and explosives that were left unattended leading up to the incident last year.<\/p>\n
A California Division of Occupational Safety and Health investigation into the July 18 blast resulted in eight citations and more than $350,000 in fines, according to records from the state agency reviewed by The Times. The Sheriff\u2019s Department said it had appealed the findings. <\/p>\n
Beyond the Cal\/OSHA investigation, which has not previously been detailed publicly, attorneys for the state allege the Sheriff\u2019s Department has impeded the workplace safety inquiry and refused to hand over vital documents, according to court filings in an ongoing dispute between the two agencies.<\/p>\n
The explosion at the Biscailuz Center Training Academy killed Dets. Victor Lemus, Joshua Kelley-Eklund and William Osborn<\/a>. <\/p>\n Kelley-Eklund and Osborn had recovered two grenades from a Santa Monica apartment complex. The following day, at least one of the grenades was taken to the facility when it detonated. The whereabouts of the second grenade is unknown.<\/p>\n In a statement, a sheriff\u2019s spokesperson maintained the department was complying with Cal\/OSHA to the extent allowed under the law as other investigations remain ongoing. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Sheriff\u2019s Department is continuing to cooperating with CAL OSHA\u2019s investigation, taking into account that two active criminal investigations are ongoing \u2014 the Sheriff\u2019s Department death investigation and the ATF\u2019s second device investigation,\u201d the statement read \u2014 the latter a reference to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.<\/p>\n In a statement Wednesday, the department said it was working with county attorneys to make sure information provided to Cal\/OSHA \u201ccomplies with legal requirements and does not compromise the integrity of the ongoing investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile some requested items have been provided, others are still in progress, and some do not exist,\u201d the statement read. \u201cWe are committed to providing [Cal\/OSHA] with the information they need to do their job, as well as continuously reviewing our own procedures to look for ways to improve.\u201d <\/p>\n But out of 19 document requests, sheriff\u2019s officials handed over two, according to an affidavit from a Cal\/OSHA investigator filed in court. The investigator noted that one of the documents provided by the Sheriff\u2019s Department \u2014 a report detailing what happened when the two grenades were initially retrieved \u2014 was so heavily redacted that it showed only two lines of text. <\/p>\n Cal\/OSHA sued the Sheriff\u2019s Department on Jan. 15 and asked a judge to intervene to force the department to hand over the documents. <\/p>\n \u201cWithout access to these documents, [Cal\/OSHA] cannot complete its fatality investigation, and LASD employees remain exposed to ongoing and unaddressed safety hazards that pose a risk of serious physical injury or further fatalities,\u201d attorneys for the state argued in a civil complaint.<\/p>\n The filings in Los Angeles County Superior Court show Cal\/OSHA began its investigation into the working conditions and training provided to the deceased detectives three days after the explosion. By July 23, the state investigators had requested to interview their supervisor and several colleagues, among them the person with the most knowledge on the incident.<\/p>\n After a series of interviews, Cal\/OSHA\u2019s complaint says, the agency sent a written request to sheriff\u2019s officials and county counsel on Nov. 21 for several documents, including training records, dispatch logs and custody reports for explosive devices. The state investigator also requested the X-ray tests that deputies had used to wrongly determine that the two grenades were inert, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Department provided only a \u201climited number of documents,\u201d according to the filing. Cal\/OSHA escalated its efforts on Dec. 22, issuing a subpoena. By Jan. 15, it filed its suit in court, looking to enforce the request for records.<\/p>\n In court filings, county attorneys representing the Sheriff\u2019s Department argue that several of the documents \u2014 such as FBI policies and internal procedures and training methods \u2014 are \u201csensitive and restricted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLASD did not obstruct the investigation,\u201d county attorneys argued in court filings. \u201cLASD produced documents responsive to the initial request and even produced documents after objecting to the Subpoena.\u201d<\/p>\n The ATF is also scrutinizing what caused the blast, and two investigations remain ongoing within the Sheriff\u2019s Department: a homicide investigation into the deaths and a separate internal inquiry into the disappearance of the second grenade. <\/p>\n