Widow of L.A. County sheriff's deputy killed in grenade blast files wrongful death lawsuit

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Set us as preferred The widow of an L.A.County sheriff’s deputy killed in a grenade blast last year sued the department this week, alleging a lack of proper training and ignored safety protocols led to the incident, which also caused the deaths of two other deputies.The lawsuit, filed Monday in L.A.

County Superior County by Nancy Lemus, alleges her husband, Victor Lemus, died in a training exercise gone wrong and seeks damages for emotional distress and loss of income.The blast last summer was the deadliest incident for the Sheriff’s Department in 150 years, triggering criminal investigations and more than $350,000 in fines from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.California California workplace safety investigators fined the L.A.

County Sheriff’s Department more than $350,000 over a deadly blast last year as attorneys for the state said in court filings that key records in the probe were still being withheld.In addition to Victor Lemus, 40, deputies Joshua Kelley-Eklund and William Osborn died in the July 2025 explosion.Asked to respond to the lawsuit, a Sheriff’s Department spokesperson did not directly address the allegations, but said investigations into the incident remain open and that the department “is implementing several measures to further strengthen operational safety,” including standardizing policies and introducing new equipment.In her lawsuit, Nancy Lemus alleged that on the day prior to the blast, Kelley-Eklund, 41, and Osborn, 58, responded to a call from the Santa Monica Police Department after officers found explosive devices in the garage of an apartment complex.

The deputies responded to the scene in personal work trucks rather than the department’s bomb truck and Osborn improperly examined the grenade and falsely reported it inert, according to the complaint.Either...