New report: Deputy slain at Borderline Bar massacre in Thousand Oaks had tripped and was shot by colleague
By Orange County on December 18, 2020
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER | Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A sheriff’s sergeant accidentally shot by a fellow law enforcement officer as they responded to a mass shooting at a Thousand Oaks bar had tripped and fallen during the chaos and was struck by the fatal bullet when he stood up and tried to retreat, according to a prosecutors’ report Thursday that finds both officers acted lawfully when they fired their weapons.
The report by the Ventura County District Attorney’s office provides the most detailed timeline of events yet of the massacre that unfolded Nov. 7, 2018, when Ian David Long attacked country-music lovers at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, killing 11.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus had returned Long’s fire from inside the dark and smoky bar and was moving back out the front door when his feet got tangled in a rope and he tumbled to the ground, according to an investigation by the county district attorney’s office.
California Highway Patrol Officer Todd Barrett had already exited and was firing at Long, who was still inside, when one of the officer’s rounds hit Helus, who had gotten up again and was just outside the door. Helus was shot five times by Long. But the medical examiner determined shortly after the incident that the sergeant was killed by a sixth bullet fired by Barrett that pierced his heart.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus was killed Nov. 7, 2018, in a deadly shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks. He was accidentally shot by a California Highway Patrol officer as they responded to a mass shooting at the country music bar. Helus had also been hit five times by the gunman, but it was a CHP officer’s bullet that killed him, according to a report issued Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. (Ventura County Sheriff’s Department via AP, File)
This Nov. 7, 2018 file photo provided by the Ventura County District Attorney shows gunman Ian David Long seen from security camera footage leaning over a counter to fire at officers responding to a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks. (Ventura County District Attorney via AP, File)
In this Nov. 8, 2018 file photo firefighters salute from an overpass as a motorcade with the body of Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus goes by in Newbury Park. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
In this Nov. 8, 2018 file photo, law enforcement officers investigate the scene of a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)
People awaiting word of loved ones from the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks at the Alex Fiore Teen Center in Thousand Oaks, CA. 13 people including a sheriff deputy and the shooter were killed in a mass shooting at the bar overnight. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People bow their heads during the dedication of the Borderline Healing Garden at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks, Thursday, November 7, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People comfort each other during the dedication of the Borderline Healing Garden at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks, Thursday, November 7, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People bow their heads during the dedication of the Borderline Healing Garden at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks, Thursday, November 7, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Borderline Bar and Grill memorial on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 in Thousand Oaks as the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting approaches. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Kathy and Ken Dunham, who lost their son Jake in the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, show their tattoos from Jake’s last cards during a visit to the memorial at the closed Thousand Oaks club on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 as the one-year anniversary approaches. The couple comes weekly to the memorial to water plants and tidy up and are also part of a peer support group. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Borderline owner Brian Hynes at his Borderline Clothing office in Westlake on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 where he runs his festival and clothing line since the mass shooting at the Thousand Oaks’ Borderline Bar and Grill a year ago. Hynes is hoping to reopen the club and in the meantime holds the Borderline Country Nights in the Canyon Club’s Agoura Hills and Santa Clarita locations. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
The Borderline Bar and Grill sign has become part of the makeshift memorial for the 12 victims of the mass shooting at the closed Thousand Oaks club. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Ventura County Sgt. Ron Helus memorial, one of 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, seen on Monday, September 9, 2019 at the closed club. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Mike and Betty Kelley, of Newbury Park and neighbors to Jake Dunham, one of 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill, visit the makeshift memorial at the closed club in Thousand Oaks on Monday, September 9, 2019. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
A memorial remains outside the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks Monday morning. Thousands Oaks officials plan to build a healing garden community memorial at Conejo Creek Park North to honor the 12 victims and more than 200 survivors of the Borderline Bar and Grill mass shooting. The goal is to finish the garden by the first anniversary of the shooting.(photo by Andy Holzman).
Festival goers take part in “Country Strong,” a song and dance honoring the country fan community and celebrating those who dance on despite tragedy, took place in the Honky Tonk Dance Hall at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio Saturday, April 27, 2019. Many Route 91 and Borderline bar survivors were in attendance. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Route 91 survivor Dana Wilson, from Cherry Valley, walks off the dance floor during “Country Strong,” a song and dance honoring the country fan community and celebrating those who dance on despite tragedy, took place in the Honky Tonk Dance Hall at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio Saturday, April 27, 2019. Many Route 91 and Borderline bar survivors were in attendance. Wilson, who was shot twice in the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas shooting said, “these gatherings are all about fellowship and healing.” Wilson is still healing from her physical injuries and added, “a lot of everything I try do brings a sense of healing.” (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA – NOVEMBER 15, 2018. Officers from a variety of agencies fill Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village for a memorial service for Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus November 15, 2018. Sgt. Helus was one of twelve victims of the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting in Thousand Oaks last week. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA – NOVEMBER 15, Billy Ray Cyrus sings during the memorial service for Sgt. Ron Helus at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village November 15, 2018. Sgt. Helus was one of twelve victims of the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting in Thousand Oaks last week. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA – NOVEMBER 15, A family photo during a video montage of Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus with his wife Karen and son Jordan years ago shown during Memorial service for Sgt. Helus at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village November 15, 2018. Sgt. Helus was one of twelve victims of the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting in Thousand Oaks last week. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
A hearse carrying the coffin of Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus makes it’s way to Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park, on November 15, 2018, in Westlake, California. Sgt. Helus was fatally wounded while engaging an active shooter at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California on November 7. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Hundreds of law enforcement personnel make their way to way to Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park, on November 15, 2018, in Westlake, California for the burial of Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus. Sgt. Helus was fatally wounded while engaging an active shooter at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California on November 7. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Mariah Piasecki pays her respects at a memorial to the victims of the Borderline Bar and Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks, Monday, Nov 12, 2018. Piasecki was close friends with victims Blake Dingman and Jake Dunham. . (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People comfort each other during a vigil at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza for the victims of the Borderline shooting, Thursday, Nov 8, 2018. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People comfort each other during a vigil at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza for the victims of the Borderline shooting, Thursday, Nov 8, 2018. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Long, a Marine veteran, took a tactical position and lay in wait for the officers, investigators said. The 28-year-old gunman, who wasn’t hit by either officer’s gunfire, fatally shot himself after the firefight.
Barrett “honestly and reasonably believed” that he and Helus, along with another responding officer, highway patrol Officer Lidia Espinoza, faced imminent threat of death or great bodily injury when they responded to reports of gunfire at around 11:20 p.m. that Wednesday, the report said.
Prosecutors concluded Barrett’s and Helus’ use of deadly force against Long was justified as a lawful act of self-defense and defense of others.
In addition, Barrett’s accidental shooting of Helus was justified and not criminal, the report found.
The report includes edited video from security footage and officer vest-worn cameras. Long is seen waiting in a back office of the bar and watching on video monitors as Helus, Barrett and Espinoza arrive.
“In an extraordinary act of heroism due to the active threat Long posed, Sergeant Helus and Officer Barrett entered the Borderline without knowledge of where Long was located, which afforded Long a substantial tactical advantage,” prosecutors wrote.
At one point, grainy footage shows Long from behind leaning over a counter at the bar’s entrance and shooting at the officers. Helus is hit, but he still manages to return fire while retreating, prosecutors said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“It is a testament to his training, character, and valor that even though he had been shot in the heart, he found the strength and determination to continue to protect others and fight to the end,” prosecutors wrote.
Long is also seen lighting and throwing one of several smoke grenades that he tossed into the club to obstruct what employees and patrons could see before he opened fire. He used a flashlight with a laser sight attached to his .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol as he shot.
Long started shooting at patrons and employees within seconds of arriving. Panicked revelers ran for the doors, dived under tables and piled on top of each other in an effort to dodge the gunfire. Others ran for their lives through other exits or broke through windows and jumped out, injuring themselves in the flight.
According to the report, Long fired 61 rounds over about 20 minutes before killing himself. He had 129 rounds remaining.
The district attorney’s investigation is the first official report to be released on the shooting. Still pending are the sheriff’s office review of the law enforcement response and homicide detectives’ in-depth investigation of the incident.
Helus, a 29-year veteran of the department, was close to retirement when he was killed. He is survived by a wife and son.
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