Joseph Santana was a 31-year-old officer with the El Monte Police Department who was killed on June 14, 2022. Santana and his partner, Corporal Michael Paredes, responded to a possible stabbing call at the Siesta Inn in El Monte. Inside a motel room they encountered the suspect, Justin Flores; a gunfight followed and both officers and Flores were fatally shot.

Santana had been with the department less than a year and left behind a wife, a daughter, and twin sons. Flores was on probation after a plea deal that dropped charges including methamphetamine possession and being a felon in possession of ammunition, requiring only 20 days in jail. Flores reportedly was armed and under the influence of PCP and methamphetamine, information that Flores’ wife, Maria Zepeda, gave to 911 but which was not relayed to the officers before they arrived; the dispatch record was accessible in the officers’ patrol vehicle computer-aided dispatch system.

The deaths prompted calls for accountability and reforms in communication and criminal justice practices. The El Monte Police Department is working with the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office as the investigation continues. Did anyone have contact with Officer Santana or know the circumstances at the Siesta Inn that night?