The family of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who died after catching fire in a mobile firing range is suing the county and the sheriff’s department for wrongful death, saying the department failed to clean up gunpowder and other flammable materials.
“The sheriff’s department failed to comply with multiple orders from Cal/OSHA… and allowed this flammable gunpowder to accumulate over time,” said attorney John Carpenter, who is representing the family of Deputy Freddie Flores. “It accumulates and accumulates, and if you don’t clean it the way the manufacturer tells you to clean it, and if you don’t clean it the way Cal/OSHA ordered the county to clean it, eventually it’s going to catch fire.”
Flores was using a mobile firing range at Pitchess Detention Center for firearm training when it caught fire in October 2023. Flores suffered third-degree burns on most of his body and eventually died from the injuries about half a year later…