Representatives of two Los Angeles County Sheriffs involved in the controversial, dangerous shooting of Andres Cardado were released from duty this week in connection with a traffic accident two months before the death of an 18-year-old. Lt. John Chatterfield said sheriff Alex Villanueva’s representatives Miguel Vega and Chris Hernandez will be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation into the crash. He will not elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation. Eight months after the incident, it is unclear why Villanueva wanted to sideline delegates. The long hiatus raises questions about whether sheriff’s officials had enough information to act quickly on the crash and whether delegates should have been removed from the field prior to the deadly meeting with Cardo in June. Lawyers representing both deputies declined to comment Friday. The crash happened just before 5pm on April 13 when Vega was driving in the back seat with one of the detainees, said Simeon Yarbro, an officer with the California Highway Patrol. , Said Yorbro. Vega told authorities he was following a cyclist suspected of carrying a gun, according to Yarrow. With the cyclist about 30 yards ahead, Vega increased speed when trying to overtake a parked car, but collided with the vehicle and the concrete wall. The person in the back seat suffered minor injuries while in custody for obscure reasons. Vega and the detainee gave different accounts of how fast he was driving. Vega told CHP officials that he had increased the speed to 30 to 35 mph, while Vega told those officers that he was going 55 to 60 mph when the accident happened. A search of the arrests and prison inmate records showed that the person identified by the CHP for the Times showed no indication that he had been formally arrested or detained at the LA County Prison system, raising questions about whether Vega could release the man after the crash. After the crash, Vega searched for the cyclist he was chasing, Yarbro said. It is unclear whether investigators found him. Yarrow said Hernandez was not mentioned in the CHP report on the crash. His role in this incident is not clear. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Quartado’s shooting sparked weeks of large protests and was the subject of increasing scrutiny by the Compton Sheriff’s Station. Following the shooting of Cardo, a whistleblower said that Vega and Hernandez were future members of the group. Their lawyers have denied the allegation. Independent inquiries into community leaders’ calls for transparency and the shooting led the death penalty office to hold an inquiry earlier this month to determine the cause and method of Cardado’s death, although the office had already decided on five 18 – year – olds with serious gunshot wounds to his back. Neither Vega nor Hernandez came to the hearing – Vega was out of the country – but they pointed out through their lawyers that they would demand their 5th Amendment against self-immolation and would not answer questions. Two assassination investigators did this. Vega’s attorney has previously said that Cardo was shot when he reached for the gun. Vega, who joined the sheriff’s department in 2009, faces charges of abuse. In 2017, he was charged with making false statements during an investigation and a law enforcement officer with knowledge of the events was eventually suspended for four days. Captain John Burcher, Villanueva’s former chief of staff, had previously told the Times that investigators had determined that the false allegations were false and that it was a disciplinary action against Vega for failing to properly screen the prisoner. Burcher said three complaints were filed against him when he was assigned to the Vega Compton station. One complaint was that department officials determined that there was no right to use unreasonable force, he said. The other two complainants accused him of being a speaker. In one, authorities determined his behavior could have been “better”. The outcome of the second case is not clear.
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