At approximately 11:20pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, emergency 911 dispatch received multiple calls of an active shooter in the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks. By 11:26pm Ventura County Sheriff’s Sergeant Ron Helus and a California Highway Patrol Officer arrived on scene and heard gunfire coming from inside the bar, which was occupied by nearly 200 college students. Sergeant Helus immediately made entry into the bar and engaged the suspect. In the exchange of gunfire Sergeant Helus was struck and severely wounded. The CHP Officer was able to pull Sergeant Helus from the bar and he was transported to a local hospital. Tragically, his wounds were not survivable and Sergeant Helus died early Thursday morning, November 8th. Eleven citizens were also shot and killed in the incident, numerous others were wounded. The suspect was later found dead inside the bar.
Sergeant Ron Helus, age 54, was a 29 year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. He is survived by his wife and son.
Additional details and funeral information will be forwarded as available.
Motor Officer Louis Allinson was conducting speed enforcement on Wilshire Boulevard near the Sawtelle veteran’s Home on March 26, 1915. He took off after a speeding motorist along the newly laid road. His front wheel struck a rock, causing him to be thrown from the motorcycle. A witness to the crash transported him to St. Catherine’s Hospital where he died of his injuries the following day. The 37-year-old officer was a U.S. Army veteran of the Spanish-American War and had served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for three years. He was survived by his wife Minnie and their two children.
On the evening of March 9, 1975, Los Angeles County Security Officer Murray Olsen witnessed a truck drive through the fence of Olive View Medical Center. He confronted the suspect who was attempting to steal x-ray equipment. Officer Murray was attacked with a knife from behind by a second man. One of the men took his service revolver and then shot him in the chest three times. Responding officers found Murray’s body near his patrol car. Officer Murray was survived by his wife Isabel. The suspect was later killed in a gun battle with LAPD. The Los Angeles County Safety Police were later absorbed by the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety, which was subsequently taken over by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
On September 17, 2018, at 1:44pm, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Communications Center received a 911 call regarding a disturbance at a local business located at the 10000 block of Folsom Boulevard in Rancho Cordova. Two officers with the Rancho Cordova Police Department, a contract city with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, responded to the scene. The initial call for service gave no indication that the suspect was armed or dangerous. Upon arriving on scene, Deputies Julie Robertson and Mark Stasyuk were fired upon by the suspect and able to return fire. The suspect fled from the initial scene on foot and was again engaged by other responding deputies at a secondary scene. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
During the initial encounter, Deputies Robertson and Stasyuk were shot by the suspect. Deputy Robertson, a three and a half year veteran, was shot in the arm and is in stable condition.
Tragically, Deputy Stasyuk’s injuries were not survivable and he passed away shortly after arriving at UC Davis Medical Center.
Deputy Mark Stasyuk, age 27, was a four and a half year veteran of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and was assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department as a patrol officer. Deputy Stasyuk is survived by his wife, mother, father, and sister. He was preceded in death by his older brother.
Additional details and funeral information will be forwarded as available.
On August 10, 2018, at approximately 9:01am, CHP motorcycle Officer Kirk Griess was conducting a traffic stop on a Saturn SUV on the right shoulder of westbound I-80, near Manuel Campos Parkway in Fairfield, when a white Chevrolet pickup truck veered onto the shoulder and collided with the CHP motorcycle, Officer Griess, and the Saturn. Officer Griess and the driver of the Saturn were both transported to the hospital, where, tragically, both succumbed to their injuries. The driver of the truck was also hospitalized and is currently being questioned by investigators.
Officer Griess was a highly respected 19-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol, with the past 16 years served at the Solano Area Office. Officer Griess also served his country as a member of the United States Marine Corps. He is survived by his wife, Kari, his two daughters, Kadi (25) and Kaci (21), and his son Kole (14).
Additional details and funeral information will be forwarded as available.
In the early morning hours of March 15, 2018, Deputy Ryan Zirkle of the Marin County Sheriff’s Department was responding to a 911 hang-up call when he was involved in a single vehicle collision on Highway 1 near Cypress Road, just north of Point Reyes Station in west Marin County.
Shortly after Deputy Zirkle was dispatched, another 911 caller reported hearing a traffic accident. As Marin Sheriff’s Communications Center had not received a response from Deputy Zirkle, his partner was dispatched to check the reported accident. His partner was first on scene shortly after midnight and found Deputy Zirkle’s vehicle down an embankment where it had struck a tree. County firefighters arrived soon after along with other responding deputy sheriffs. It took 35 minutes to extricate Deputy Zirkle from his vehicle, after which he was air lifted to Petaluma Valley Hospital. In a press conference later that morning, Marin County Sheriff Robert Doyle announced, “Deputies, paramedics, and doctors did all they could but Ryan didn’t survive.”
Deputy Ryan Zirkle, age 24, had been a deputy for 2 and a half years. He is survived by his mother and father, two older brothers, and a fiancé with whom he had recently purchased a house in Petaluma.
Additional details and funeral information will be forwarded as available.
At approximately 9:00pm on Friday, March 9, 2018, officers with the Pomona Police Department responded to a call of a reckless driver in the 1400 block of South Palomares Street. Upon locating the suspect vehicle, a brief pursuit ensued when the driver failed to stop. The driver exited the vehicle after crashing, and ran into a nearby apartment complex. The suspect barricaded himself in a bedroom within an apartment and as officers attempted contact, began firing through the door. One officer was struck by gunfire, and upon attempting to assist his wounded partner, Officer Casillas was struck and fatally wounded. His partner underwent surgery Saturday morning and is expected to survive.
SWAT officers and crisis negotiators responded to the scene. The suspect was taken into custody at approximately 2:00pm Saturday.
Officer Casillas, age 30, joined the Pomona Police Department as a records specialist before becoming a jailer in 2015. He later completed the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department academy and was sworn in as an officer in September of 2017. He was just completing his field training when he was killed.
Officer Greggory Casillas is survived by his wife and two small children, and his parents.
Additional details and funeral information will be forwarded as available.
On the evening of December 24, 2017, California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Camilleri and his partner, Officer Jonathan Velasquez, were stopped in their patrol vehicle within the reverse gore of the Winton Avenue onramp to I-880 southbound as part of the CHP’s Maximum Enforcement Patrol over the holiday season. At approximately 11:20pm, a Cadillac sedan driven by a 22 year old male drifted off the highway and struck the patrol vehicle from behind. Both officers and the driver of the Cadillac were transported to the hospital. Tragically, Officer Camilleri’s injuries were not survivable. Officer Velasquez was treated and released from the hospital. The driver of the Cadillac has been charged with driving under the influence.
Officer Andrew Camilleri, age 33, began his career with the California Highway Patrol on August 22, 2016. He is survived by his wife, 12-year-old daughter, 6-year-old son, 2-year-old son, his parents, brother, and sister.
On August 30, 2017, at approximately 9:30am, members of the Sacramento County Auto Theft Task Force were conducting an investigation near the Ramada Inn located in the 2600 block of Auburn Boulevard in Sacramento. The task force is comprised of investigators from the California Highway Patrol, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, and Sacramento County Probation Department. Investigators located a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn. Two adult females entered the car. Officers attempted a vehicle stop on the suspect car, when a pursuit ensued. The pursuit terminated in Elk Grove, and both females were detained. Detectives found that one female suspect was on searchable probation out of the bay area, and registered to a room at the Ramada Inn. Detectives returned to the Ramada Inn to search the room. As investigators knocked and announced themselves, a male suspect inside opened fire, shooting two CHP officers through the door. Both are expected to recover.
The suspect then fired rounds from the balcony at deputies stationed at the rear of the hotel. Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Robert “Bob” French was struck in the exchange. The suspect escaped in a vehicle and a pursuit ensued. The suspect crashed the vehicle just west of Watt Avenue, and again engaged pursuing officers. The suspect was struck by gunfire and detained.
Deputy Bob French, age 52, a 21-year veteran of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, died as he was being transported to the hospital. He was a highly respected training officer with the North Area Patrol Unit.
Deputy French is survived by three adult children, grandchildren, his sister, and his girlfriend.
