Feds Started Deadly Santa Clarita Siege

Re “Deputy Slain as Gunman Sparks Siege,” Sept. 1: As the father of an L.A. County deputy sheriff, I’m more than a little outraged by the senseless death of Deputy Jake Kuredjian during the shootout in Santa Clarita. Another fiasco by a bunch of incompetent, bumbling federal agents. I just don’t understand how they keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over again.

The suspect these federal agents were trying to serve the search warrant on, James Beck, was a felon with a known arsenal of weapons. What could possibly be worse than trying to take him down when he’s in the best possible position to resist and barricade himself in a place where he has access to all of his weapons? This guy wasn’t a recluse. He was regularly seen on the street walking his dog, participating in neighborhood functions and probably leaving the house to go shopping. He could have been taken into custody at any time when he was away from his house, and then the search warrant could have been executed without any risk to anyone.

This same scenario was exactly what led to the disasters at Waco and Ruby Ridge, and I still see it happening whenever the feds are involved. Where does this siege mentality come from? Not only did they get Deputy Kuredjian killed, but they put the lives of everyone on that street at risk. The federal moron who was in charge of this operation should be fired. It’s just too bad he can’t also be prosecuted for stupidity.

Joseph Lutz

Lancaster

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Rather than waiting until Beck left his house to serve their warrant, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents attempted to roust him from the house. Not surprisingly, Beck opened fire and, tragically, an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy was killed. Then, rather than waiting Beck out, agents returned his fire, thus jeopardizing the safety of nearby residents in the tightly packed housing tract. The Times reported that “the suspect and the authorities exchanged hundreds of rounds of gunfire--shattering some windows and pocking the walls of nearby homes.” Finally, the authorities fired tear gas canisters into the house, thus burning it to the ground.

The Times might want to investigate the ATF, in order to determine whether or not ATF agents have ever made an arrest which did not involve either gunplay or a structure fire.

Rod Freed

Mission Viejo