CPL. Michael Parades
Officer: El Monte Police Department, Corporal Michael Paredes
Date: 6/14/2022 Location: El Monte, CA FACTORS (1,2,4,5,7,15,18,19,21)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Justin William Flores
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, Flores served time in prison for a 2009 vehicle theft conviction and then again in 2011 for a burglary conviction. In 2020 Flores pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of narcotics, but was only sentenced to “two years of probation and 20 days in jail.” The week before this shooting Flores assaulted his girlfriend so his probation officer “filed for a revocation hearing” but “instead of being arrested and jailed, he was allowed to stay out on the streets” until that hearing would take place on June 27th. / Yes, Flores had stabbed his wife the day before, illegally possessed a firearm and had followed her to a hotel where she was trying to hide from him.
Mental Illness: Yes, Flores’ wife told officers “her husband was not in the right state of mind” and described him as “a monster”, and he committed suicide which is a key indicator of mental illness.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Yes, Flores was arrested for possessing a personal usage amount of methamphetamine in 2020. / None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: Latino/Male/35
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 4:45 p.m. on June 14, 2022, El Monte Police Officers responded to a 911 call of domestic violence involving a possible stabbing at a hotel. Upon arrival they were met outside by Diana Flores and informed that her husband, Justin Flores was inside the hotel room, acting erratically and armed with a gun. Corporal Michael Parades and Police Officer Joseph Santana proceeded to the hotel room and confronted the suspect.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Flores ambushed the officers, fatally shooting them both in the head and then fleeing from his hotel room into the parking lot.
Reactions by the police: Backup officers that were in the parking lot exchanged gunfire with Flores who ended up shooting himself in the head.
How murdered? Corporal Parades was ambushed and fatally shot while investigating a 911 call of domestic violence at a hotel.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Given that the officers were told Flores was inside the hotel room armed and dangerous, it would have been safer for them to remain behind cover and have him exit with his hands empty and up in the air.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Since Flores was known to be armed, the officers would have been justified to use deadly force as soon as they saw him holding a weapon or making a furtive movement for one.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Flores took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
Miscellaneous: Olga Garcia, PO Santana’s mother said, "I blame the death of my son and his partner on [Los Angeles District Attorney George] Gascón,” they were “murdered by a criminal that should have been in jail.”
