El Monte PD Loses Two Officers

 Killed in shootout with stabbing suspect

(l-r) Corporal Michael Paredes, Officer Joseph Santana

Rest in Peace

El Monte, California is a municipality outside Los Angeles. Yesterday afternoon, two El Monte police officers, Michael Paredes and Joseph Santana, were killed in an ambush when they responded to a reported stabbing at a motel. The shooter was also killed.

By chance, our next-door neighbors' son-in-law is retired from El Monte PD. I had not known he was retired, so I nervously called our neighbors to inquire. In addition, one of my former DEA colleagues with whom I had worked in  Los Angeles, is a former El Monte PD officer and had gone back to the PD after his retirement from DEA. I also reached out to him.

It's another tragic note to the long list of police deaths, which have increased at an alarming rate in recent years. Given the level of vitriol directed at our police, it is not so surprising. This has all got to stop. It is high time we get rid of these lenient DAs, like George Gascon in Los Angeles. It's a good thing the bad guy is also dead because in LA County now, it's not even a sure thing he would stay in jail. We need to toughen our laws, build more prisons, and put more people in them.

Enough is enough. If we don't wake up soon, we are going to lose this country.

*Update: This should be no surprise. The suspect in the killings was on probation after being given a slap on the wrist from the LA County DA's Office for felony gun possession.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-suspect-killed-el-monte-police-officers-probation-gun-charge

"He had a previous strike conviction ad received two years probation for a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence is in accordance with the policies of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who was recently taken to task by a state appeals court over his refusal to prosecute three-strike cases."