PALMDALE – The mother of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was fatally shot earlier this month in Palmdale said in remarks broadcast Wednesday that the district attorney’s decision not to pursue the death penalty for the shooting suspect is a “disgrace.”
Kim Clinkunbroomer said in an exclusive interview with ABC News she was devastated about the decision by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to seek a maximum term of life in prison without parole. [View the ABC interview here]
“It just seems that the district attorney wants to spare a life, when (the suspect) didn’t spare my son’s life — he executed my son,” Clinkunbroomer, the mother of slain Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, told ABC News. “You can’t do this to families. We need to defend our law enforcement officers, and that’s not — that’s a disgrace.”
Gascón is an opponent of the death penalty and said in a news conference last week that it doesn’t serve as a deterrent. “If I thought that seeking the death penalty was going to bring Ryan back to us, I would seek it without any reservation. But it won’t,” Gascón said. “If I thought that the death penalty was going to stop people from committing brutal murders, I would seek it. But we know that it won’t. The reality is that the death penalty doesn’t serve as a deterrent, and the death penalty does not bring people back. … What I can assure you is that we’re going to do everything within our legal power to make sure that this defendant never is out of prison.”
Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar, 29, was charged Sept. 20 with capital murder for Clinkunbroomer’s shooting. During a short arraignment hearing, a judge entered dual pleas on his behalf of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. His family claims Salazar has a long history of mental illness and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He is due back in court Nov. 7, and he remains jailed without bail at the Twin Towers jail in downtown Los Angeles.
The murder charge against Salazar includes special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer, lying in wait and firing from a vehicle, along with multiple sentence-enhancing allegations of personal use of a firearm, specifically a .22-caliber revolver. The special circumstance allegations normally could open a defendant to a possible death sentence, but Gascón is a staunch opponent of the death penalty, so Salazar will face a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Kim Clinkunbroomer, who was in attendance at Gascón’s news conference last week discussing his decision against the death penalty, blasted the decision.
“How dare you, on national TV, tell me you’re not seeking the death penalty because it won’t bring my son back? My son’s not coming back, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do your job,” she told ABC News. “I truly hope the people of Los Angeles realize what this district attorney is not doing for us. And I hope when the election comes next, they really think hard about that bubble they fill in.”
If Salazar is convicted and determined to have been insane at the time of the killing, he would be confined to a state hospital rather than prison. Gov. Gavin Newsom has placed a moratorium on the death penalty in California. Kim Clinkunbroomer told ABC News, “Things need to change.”
“People need to be punished for the crimes they commit,” she said.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office told ABC News in a statement, “We have nothing but compassion for the family of Deputy Clinkunbroomer. They are experiencing an unthinkable loss. Nothing that can happen in the criminal justice system will ever repair the harm of losing someone so beloved. He is a fallen hero who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. May his memory be a guiding light, reminding us of the profound sacrifices made by those who wear the badge.”
Ryan Clinkunbroomer, a 30-year-old, third-generation deputy who was recently engaged to be married, was shot around 6 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2023, while sitting in his patrol car at a traffic light near the sheriff’s Palmdale station at Sierra Highway and East Avenue Q. His fiancée, Brittany Lindsey, told ABC News he “would have made a great husband and father one day.”
“Every day that he went to work, I prayed for him,” Lindsey said. “I prayed that he’d just come home safe. A lot of nights I couldn’t sleep. I would just watch the clock waiting for him to come home.”
Previous related stories:
Alleged killer of sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale charged with murder
Authorities arrest alleged killer of sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale
Deputy shot and killed near Palmdale Station, manhunt underway for suspect
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Ommy Stratusberger says
People (civilians) get murdered all the time and if/when caught and convicted, the outlaws usually receive life without the possibility of parole and not death row in the state of California. Are we supposed to make some kind of special exception because the victim happened to be a police officer this time? What about the people who the police have needlessly murdered? Where’s the capital punishment and outcry from Sheriff Luna and Kim Clinkunbroomer when it comes to that? I send my condolences to the family and feel terrible for Ryan Clinkunbroomer, he had his life cut short for literally no reason at all but Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar will never see daylight as a free man one way or the other. Take the W.
Information says
The real problems of these types of situations for citizens is who owns the prisons and who profits from those that are housed for life;
When police kill innocent citizens and get away with it IMO; its to spare the cities from paying into the very systems that they receive portions of their funding from based on the taxes paid. It’s the oldest pay for play scheme in the prison system.
Isaac Newton says
“SUPPORT THE KILLING OF BABIES THAT SURVIVE ABORTIONS”
I would think this is a very small number, among all aborted babies.
Like, really really small.
Less than 1.
ACE CARTER says
PUTTING EVEN CRAZY VICIOUS ANIMALS IN SMALL CAGES FOR YEARS IS CRUEL AND WRONG –
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PUT THEM DOWN TO END THEIR SUFFERING –
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THAT WAY THEY WILL NEVER HURT ANYONE EVER AGAIN –
***
Plato says
Honestly, if I were this kids relative, I would not make a media circus of his death in the line of duty.
It harms the nobility of the man and the job.
Disgrace says
“People need to be punished for the crimes they commit…”
George Soros (György Schwartz)-backed district attorneys believe otherwise.
The man says
Crazy world we live in..a judge in Maryland was shot n murdered by a defendant that was unjustly served to have his kids taken away…and this poor officer was just protecting us..
Cynic says
I loathe Gascon and think we need to get much tougher on crime. That being said, the shooter was schizophrenic and had a host of mental health issues. A life sentence without the possibility of parole would be just.
John says
Who cares. People like that don’t deserve to be here if they’re taking life, especially those who are out there keeping the community safe. In that case, all bets are off the table.
I never understood how people like you can have any remorse for individuals like this. Imagine if that was you or someone you loved dearly. You might tell me now that you would choose Gascon’s option, but if that truly happened to you, I’m sure it’s not as easy to want to let the guy live.
Life in prison without the possibility of parole is a miserable thing, but at least they get to live some sort of life, visits from family, prisoner rights etc. However, he took Deputy Clinkunbroomer’s life away and forfeited him any right to see his family again. He did not even get to eat his last meal. It’s about the principle of it.
Templer says
Take that decision out of the governor’s and prosecutors hands give the family one year to make a determination then the State works within those guidelines. An assassin like this shouldn’t out live key family members of the victim. And when you have an overwhelming stack of evidence and a heartless confession shorten the damn appeals process.
Templer says
I don’t think Gascon should have made that statement without further discovery, it hasn’t been determined that the suspect is truly schizophrenic. There was a lot of effort to lie in wait, that traffic light doesn’t always stop traffic he had too wait till the perfect time and that time may have taken some minutes, he had park nearby in plain sight for over a quarter mile there are no public driveways just sheriff property,and not have civilian traffic interfere with his execution. It has been mentioned that he held a grudge from a past Sheriff response at his residence. All this considered he wasn’t that far gone just a dark soul
Disgrace says
“…make sure that this defendant never is out of prison.”
LAUSD/ESL graduate?
iconoclast says
Ryan’s mother has every right to be upset. This society which attaches, allegedly, on the importance of life allows people to live who murder someone else. Think of yourself. You are alive. You have a life. You have people who depend upon you. You have dreams. So, someone murders you gets to live. Why? Because life is important? He or she should have thought about that when they murdered you.
Tim Scott says
Because we as a society need to be better than our worst elements.
John says
Can’t do that if maniacs keep on coming out. That a reasonable answer you have, but we are not dealing with reasonable people.
Tim Scott says
Do you recognize that we had the death penalty for decades and it apparently did nothing to keep “maniacs” from “coming out”?
so ash says
Every time a murderer stopped breathing, it stopped my tax dollars from paying for a murderer to eat, drink, be clothed, have shelter and watch television on my dime. Tim your comments have always shown you hate cops; You always sympathize with the perpetrator. You . Are. Gross.
Ronald Wright says
The most certain way to increase prison populations is to adopt policies that incentivize imprisonment, punishment, and low thresholds for misbehavior.
Those same policies increase the rate of recidivism, and work to amplify the affects of grinding justice as a path of descent, rather than of rehabilitation.
It was stated long ago:
“Patriotism may be the last refuge of a scoundrel, but its also the tyrants first resort. People afraid of crime, outsiders, muslims…you name it…are easiily manipulated.
The warrior caste, supposedly society’s protectors, often become protection racketeers. The more elusive or imaginary the foe, the better for manufacturing consent. The inquisition did a roaring trade against the devil”
Making prosecution for petty offense harsher only instructs citizens about the cruelty of the state, hardens them against it, turning the idea of civilization on its head.
ACE CARTER says
FUNNY ?
HOW THE VERY SAME PEOPLE THAT HATE THE VERY THOUGHT OF EXECUTING ANYONE –
NO MATTER HOW HEINOUS THEIR CRIMES –
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SUPPORT THE KILLING OF BABIES THAT SURVIVE ABORTIONS ?
WHO ARE INNOCENT OF ANY CRIMES –
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THESE GODLESS COMMUNISTS ARE TOTALLY EVIL !
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WEll SAID ACE says
Totally Agree
Isaac Newton says
“SUPPORT THE KILLING OF BABIES THAT SURVIVE ABORTIONS”
I would think this is a very small number, among all aborted babies.
Like, really really small.
Less than 1.