Posted on 11/08/2018 1:15:02 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Three minutes after the 911 call came in late Wednesday night, Sgt. Ron Helus of the Ventura County Sheriffs Office pulled up at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, where a former Marine had burst in and began shooting patrons.
Helus, a 29-year veteran on the overnight shift, met up with a pair of California Highway Patrol officers who had raced to the scene from a traffic stop, authorities said. They could hear gunshots. There was no time to wait for backup.
What you saw last night with the sergeant and California Highway Patrol officer, that is an expectation we have, that they are going to make entry and do their best to stop the threat and prevent further loss of life, said Travis Walker, the chief of police in Cathedral City, California, and a former member of the San Bernardino Police Department, where he led the tactical response to a 2015 terror attack at a government office. In the time the suspect engaged with the officers, he wasnt engaged in killing innocent victims.
That approach was also taken at last months shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 dead and seven wounded, including two city police officers and two SWAT team members.
In almost every active shooter situation in recent times where police get there while the shooting is still going on, police go in at high risk to themselves, following a national training model, which is immediate intervention, said Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation, a nonprofit research and training organization.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
RIP Buddy....God Speed!
RIP bud...
I won’t be forgetting you very soon.
R.I.P.
In Florida, they train them to throw more children at the shooter, in an effort to force the attacker to run out of ammo.
May God bless his soul.
Thank you Sgt Helus.
Well done Sgt. Helus.
No greater love.
RIP
May his Memory be Eternal!
Why were the Four off-duty cops in the bar UNARMED?
A policeman was killed last night.
He died while protecting your rights.
His creed was to protect and serve.
This fate he didnt deserve.
A mom and dad have lost a son.
So many other jobs he couldve done.
His wife and kids are left alone.
Their daddy wont be coming home.
His fellow officers are hurt so deep.
For a fallen brother they weep.
The morning paper will print a story.
About a policeman who died in glory.
The flags will fly at half mast.
Politicians and citizens will seem sad.
The funeral is tomorrow at noon.
It will all be over very soon.
By next week they will have forgot.
That a policeman was killed last night.
my best guess is, since it was ‘country night’ they were doing what everyone else was doing - linedancing. Until the shooting started - and then they were getting people upstairs, out doors, out windows and up in the rafters out of the line of fire. This is an all-age place that draws teens through the elderly.
There were a lot of people there (60+) that were also at Vegas.
I hear Don liked to play darts and was a good man all around. RIP, Sir.
He was close to retirement. What a shame.
Rest in peace, Sgt. Helus.
Here’s the deal: With rising mental health rates and progressive gun control, the probability of an active shooter scenario goes up every day for many law enforcement officers. Rather than AR15s, they deserve the tools to help ensure a successful encounter, if for no other reason than to save lives.
Ballistic shields have existed for years, both in rigid form and flexible, dynamic cover options. In contrast to body armor, they have a long service life and are dirt cheap for their intended role.
IMHO there is no excuse for many law enforcement agencies to not have these readily available to officers. Entering an active-shooter situation blind with such protection affords an officer a probability of successful encounter an order of magnitude greater than entering blind with nothing but internal structure drywall cover around corners.
There is no doubt that Deputy Helus’ actions saved lives by entering the building, but it was a needless loss. The media can play its gun control games, but I’m more concerned about giving officers the tools they need to both save lives AND go home afterwards if the public in these areas insist on disarming citizens.
Final note: If gun control nuts insist upon the “reaction standard” & refuse to give officers the tools they need, they can cry me a river about their “losses”...gun control will never stop the bloodshed (paging Dr. Obvious).
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