Fallout follows mistaken shooting of Pico Rivera man

PICO RIVERA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy's mistaken shooting of Frank Mendoza inside his own Pico Rivera home was denounced in a special City Council session Friday. Critics took aim at the deputy who fired the fatal shot.

"He might have a happy trigger finger, the thing is we don't want him around," John Belmonte of the Concerned Citizens Committee said.

The city contracts the sheriff's department to provide police services. Pico Rivera resident Richard Ramirez says it's time for a change.

"Have you ever considered terminating the contract with Pico sheriffs and getting a real police department in here that will protect its citizens?" Ramirez said.

The council called the deputy's misjudgment a tragedy and says the real blame falls on the fleeing felon who broke into the Mendoza home.

Cedric Ramirez, 24, noted as armed and dangerous on a special bulletin, was an AB 109 probationer who the corrections system had released from prison. He violated the terms in January and had been allegedly on the run for about eight months.

"If there had been no one AB 109, would this person still possibly be in jail?" David Armenta of the Pico Rivera City Council said.

Ramirez is just one of dozens of such probationers in the city, according to Los Angeles County Assistant Sheriff Michael Rothans.

"There are currently 97 AB 109ers that are released into the Pico Rivera community," Rothans said.

About the shooting, Rothans stressed to the council the pressure placed on deputies.

Ramirez broke into Mendoza's house and fired at them as sheriff's deputies tried to get the family out. A deputy shot Mendoza moments later as he saw a figure moving where it seemed the shots were coming from.

"Everything evolved very rapidly and occurred within seconds from the first shooting to the final shooting," Rothans said.

Investigators are still trying to assess the number of rounds deputies fired at the scene. They've counted 24 so far, but that does not include the rounds seen on the house's eaves. Deputies blasted away to distract Ramirez.

Rothans says deputies, including the one who mistakenly shot Mendoza, risked their lives to move Mendoza out of the house. They extracted him, but Mendoza did not survive his injuries.

On Friday, citizens asked that all the deputies involved in the shooting be transferred.

The City Council says it will explore any options to minimize the number of AB 109 offenders like Ramirez who end up in their community.