A Palmdale community reels and unites in wake of slaying
The slaying of a Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy has sent shockwaves through the high desert community of Palmdale, where residents, city leaders and law enforcement officials have drawn together in grief and confusion.
Questions would keep coming on Monday, in a stunned northern L.A. County city where shootings are not unheard of, but where a bold attack on a uniformed law enforcement officer is a rarity.
One step toward answers came early. L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna announced that Kevin Cataneo Salazar, 29, of Palmdale was arrested in connection with Saturday's fatal shooting of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30.
Luna, a law enforcement officer for nearly 30 years, choked back tears as he announced the arrest outside of the Palmdale Sheriff's station Monday— where Clinkunbroomer was shot less than 48 hours earlier — and called the suspected killer “a coward.”
Not far away, an eerie calm hung over the Palmdale street Monday where law enforcement had descended hours earlier, firing tear gas into the suspect's home, forcing him out.
The street appeared to be home to several other families, with play structures and toys scattered across many of the front yards, but on Monday morning there was not a child in sight.
Neighbors peeped out windows and through cracked doors, but for the most part remained out of the way of the tirade of media vans that descended upon their quiet desert community in the wake of Salazar's arrest.
It wasn't long after Luna's news conference that Salazar's sister, Yessica, and their mother appeared pained and weary as they faced the flock of reporters who after Luna's announcement perched on their lawn.
While Salazar's family drew attention to Salazar's mental health, they too expressed shock at the violent actions he is accused of.
Yessica pleaded for understanding that underneath her brother's schizophrenia and delusions was a good person.
“We want you guys to know that my brother did have schizophrenia,” Yessica said. “There is always two sides to the story and my brother is getting called a coward and he wasn't in the right state of mind.”
Salazar's next-door neighbor,
People pray at a vigil for Clinkunbroomer at the Palmdale station Sunday.
Wilbur Cardona, echoed this sentiment, calling Salazar “a good person.”
Nevertheless, as a father of young children, the news of this violence shook him.
Around town, flags were lowered to half staff and LASD members wore black “memorial bands” around their badges as a sign of
mourning and remembrance for the slain deputy.
Palmdale Mayor Laura Bettencourt said that after Sunday night's vigil for the deputy, she received many calls of support in a city that appeared united over a singular question: “What happened?”
And she offered the city's
gratitude for the work that ended in an arrest.
“Finding out why is essential so that we can try to prevent this kind of thing in the future,” Bettencourt said. “What signs should we watch for? What was in his mind?”
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes this majority Latino city of just more than 160,000, echoed the mayor.
“Why was the deputy murdered? Who was involved? What was their background?” she said. “I am determined to obtain answers to those questions quickly.”
“I will not rest until that happens.”
Throughout the community of Palmdale, the questions lingered, and so did the disbelief.
“You hear about a lot of things going on, but something like this, especially happening right in front of a police station, that's brutal, that's really sad,” said Melissa Delgado, a lifelong Palmdale resident, on Monday as she came to pay her respects at the memorial established for Clinkunbroomer at the corner of Sierra Highway and East Avenue Q.
The memorial began with a smattering of flowers, but in the past 48 hours has grown to coat the corner in a sea of candles, letters, photos and hand-written prayers.
“This guy was 30 years old, he was young, he still had his whole life ahead of him and for him to get his life taken away the way he did, that's just not right,” she added.
Resident Nicole Ramos was teary-eyed as she visited the memorial. Clinkunbroomer's death hit her hard as her brother recently joined the LASD.
“For something like this to happen so randomly to someone so young makes me worry about my family member,” she said. “We're already so scared every time he leaves because anything can happen on the job.”