A state investigation into how three Los Angeles County sheriff’s bomb squad detectives were killed by a grenade in a department parking lot has found a series of “willful” safety violations, including failure to provide effective training and explosives that were left unattended leading up to the incident last year.
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’s Department said it has appealed the findings.
Beyond the Cal/OSHA investigation, which has not previously been detailed publicly, attorneys for the state allege the Sheriff’s 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.
The explosion at the Biscailuz Center Training Academy killed Dets. Victor Lemus, Joshua Kelley-Eklund and William Osborn.
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.
In a statement, a sheriff’s spokesperson maintained the department was complying with Cal/OSHA to the extent allowed under the law as other investigations remain ongoing.
“The Sheriff’s Department is continuing to cooperating with CAL OSHA’s investigation, taking into account that two active criminal investigations are ongoing — the Sheriff’s Department death investigation and the ATF’s second device investigation,” the statement read — the latter a reference to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
But out of 19 document requests, sheriff’s 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’s Department — a report detailing what happened when the two grenades were initially retrieved — was so heavily redacted that it showed only two lines of text.
Cal/OSHA sued the Sheriff’s Department on Jan. 15 and asked a judge to intervene to force the department to hand over the documents.
“Without 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,” attorneys for the state argued in a civil complaint.
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.
After a series of interviews, Cal/OSHA’s complaint says, the agency sent a written request to sheriff’s 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.
The Sheriff’s Department provided only a “limited number of documents,” 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.
In court filings, county attorneys representing the Sheriff’s Department argue that several of the documents — such as FBI policies and internal procedures and training methods — are “sensitive and restricted.”
“LASD did not obstruct the investigation,” county attorneys argued in court filings. “LASD produced documents responsive to the initial request and even produced documents after objecting to the Subpoena.”
The ATF is also scrutinizing what caused the blast, and two investigations remain ongoing within the Sheriff’s Department: a homicide investigation into the deaths and a separate internal inquiry into the disappearance of the second grenade.
Last week, The Times revealed a third criminal investigation is underway into the distribution of crime scene photos of the detectives’ bodies. A commander was relieved of duty the day that investigation began last September.
Lawyers for Lemus’ widow have filed a legal claim, accusing the department of not training him or sending him to the FBI bomb school as required. The claim alleges that Kelley-Eklund and Osborn failed to properly examine and handle the grenade, and says Lemus was not expecting a live device to be present at the training center.
On the day before the explosion, Kelley-Eklund, 41, and Osborn, 58, responded to a call from the Santa Monica Police Department after officers found two grenades in the garage of an apartment complex in the 800 block of Bay Street. The deputies responded to the scene in personal work trucks rather than the department’s bomb truck, the claim alleges.
“The personal trucks contained lower-quality equipment as compared to what would be contained on the Bomb Truck. After arriving on the scene, Osborn used an older X-ray machine to examine the explosive device. Osborn then falsely reported to the Santa Monica officers that the device was inert,” the legal claim alleges.
The claim argues that Osborn’s initial finding “meant he would not take the required steps to render the device safe,” and alleges one of detectives stored the seized items overnight in their truck or home. The blast occurred the next day in the parking lot of the East L.A. facility, killing the three men instantly.
Cal/OSHA said it issued fines totaling $250,000 for “failing to ensure employees used appropriate personal protective equipment when handling explosive ordnances, including grenades.”
The department received additional penalties for improperly documenting training, failing to identify and evaluate the hazards of transporting and storing the ordnance, and leaving explosives unattended.
“This tragedy underscores the responsibility employers have to anticipate hazards and take meaningful steps to protect workers, especially in high-risk operations involving explosive materials,” Cal/OSHA spokeswoman Denisse Gomez said in a statement.
The recent fines issued by Cal/OSHA is not the first time the state agency has hammered the Sheriff’s Department.
In 2024, Cal/OSHA hit the department with just over $300,000 in fines for a series of safety violations that investigators said led up to a deadly fire at a mobile shooting range trailer parked outside the Castaic jail complex. Two deputies were hospitalized with burn injuries and Deputy Alfredo “Freddy” Flores died from his injuries.
In response to questions about the grenade incident and the state’s ongoing efforts to obtain records, Gomez said Cal/OSHA is trying to avoid future tragedies.
“The goal of this investigation and every investigation is to prevent workplace accidents, injuries and deaths,” Gomez said. “The Division hopes to work with the Sheriff’s Department on abatement and help keep all remaining Arson and Explosives employees safe.”
