LA County Sheriff's Department fined $350K for explosion that killed 3 deputies

Workplace safety inspectors fined the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department more than $350,000 following their investigation into an explosion that killed three deputies. 

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal OSHA) said its staff issued eight citations totaling $351,500 against the department, including failure to correct unsafe work conditions and practices, and for providing inadequate training and instruction to deputies who handled the grenade that ultimately killed the three deputies.

Cal OSHA also cited the Sheriff's Department for: 

• Failing to ensure that employees used appropriate personal protective equipment when handling explosive ordnance, including grenades.
• Failing to establish and maintain effective methods to identify and evaluate hazards related to retrieving, transporting, storing, and handling explosive ordnance, including grenades.
• Leaving explosive materials unattended, not stored in required magazines, and failing to place explosive materials in suitable containers when transported manually.
• Failing to maintain required documentation of safety training and for failing to complete and certify a written workplace hazard assessment for personal protective equipment.

State inspectors said the Sheriff's Department appealed the fines. Cal OSHA said its staff is in a legal battle with the Sheriff's Department and hope the court system will compel deputies to share investigatory documents surrounding the explosion.

"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 wrote in a statement. "We mourn the loss of these three Sheriff's Deputies and extend our condolences to their families, coworkers, and first responders."

The Sheriff's Department stated that they are working with the County Counsel to fulfill Cal OSHA's request.

"The Department is also working closely with County Counsel to ensure that all information provided complies with legal requirements and does not compromise the integrity of the ongoing investigations," the department wrote. "While some requested items have been provided, others are still in progress, and some do not exist."

Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, William Osborn and Victor Lemus died while handling two grenades, one of which exploded while the trio was in the parking lot of the Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East L.A. on July 18, 2025.

LASD Detective Nancy Lemus, the widow of Detective Victor Lemus, claimed the department failed to send her husband to the FBI's training program to learn how to handle explosives and did not provide "adequate in-house training" before he was assigned to the department's bomb squad. 

In the claim, Nancy Lemus' attorneys alleged that Eklund and Osborn failed to follow departmental and legal mandates for handling explosives. The attorneys claimed Eklund or Osborn pulled the pin from the hand grenade before the deadly explosion. 

The Sheriff's Department said it consulted with the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad, the FBI, and the ATF to update its training manuals and guidelines following the explosion. Deputies are still investigating the deadly explosion. LASD added that the ATF's post-blast investigation is still ongoing.

Deputies have not located the second grenade that Eklund and Osborn seized last year.