LOS ANGELES – The parents of a late Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy lost a round in court when a judge ruled their attorneys cannot depose Sheriff Robert Luna as part of their lawsuit alleging the excessive amount of overtime their son was required to work played a role in his ambush killing in 2023.
Michael and Kim Clinkunbroomer, the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, maintain that Ryan Clinkunbroomer was too fatigued to stay alert and avoid threats, leading to his fatal shooting outside the Palmdale sheriff’s station. The suit alleges a cause of action for battery against accused gunman Kevin Cataneo Salazar and an allegation of state-created danger against the county, Luna and two other Sheriff’s Department members.
On Thursday, Judge Lynne M. Hobbs said the plaintiffs had not overcome the legal hurdle of proving they could not get the same evidence they sought from Luna from other witnesses.
“Plaintiff is precluded from taking the deposition of defendant Robert Luna until leave of court or unless defendant’s agreement to the deposition is obtained,” the judge wrote.
Defense attorneys maintained Luna is an “apex witness”, which is defined as a person who sits at the highest level of a large organization. The same lawyers contended the testimony the plaintiffs sought could be obtained from other witnesses.
Clinkunbroomer’s mother and father contended that the “state-created danger doctrine” creates an exception to the apex rule because the required showing of “deliberate indifference” is a subjective test and that Luna’s state of mind was thus relevant.
Clinkunbroomer’s parents maintain in the suit originally filed April 3 and revised on July 2 that their son was told to work so much overtime that he was exhausted and could not effectively respond when the 30-year-old Salazar allegedly drove up alongside the deputy’s patrol car and shot him in the back of the head on Sept. 16, 2023.
Salazar is charged with murder that includes the special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer, lying in wait and firing from a vehicle, along with allegations that he personally used and discharged a .22- caliber revolver.
Salazar has entered a dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in connection with the killing. 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.
