A TIMELY GIFT—Karen Helus, widow of Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus (shown at below in 2017), plays with her new golden retriever, Zion, in her Moorpark home. The dog was a gift from Guide Dogs of America. After Helus’ teenage neighbor asked the organization to give “Aunt Karen” a dog that hadn’t passed the training, Guide Dogs allowed her to skip the seven-year waiting list and sent her Zion. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers
Last October, as Sgt. Ron Helus was anticipating his retirement from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office after 29 years on the force, he asked his wife, Karen, if he’d made a difference in people’s lives.
“A few weeks later, he said, ‘If something ever happens to me, don’t be sad too long. Celebrate my life,’” Karen said.
Days later, on Nov. 7, Helus was the first police officer to enter Borderline Bar and Grill as a mass shooting unfolded inside. The 54-year-old was one of the 12 who lost their lives that night.
Young people who survived the shooting still come up to Karen to thank her for her husband’s sacrifice.
Crimes against young people broke Ron’s heart, she said. Knowing sons and daughters survived because of her husband’s actions helps her cope with losing the love of her life.
“‘Those kids haven’t lived their lives yet. They deserve that.’ I can hear him saying that,” she said.
When survivors ask her what they can do for her, she tells them to live their lives well in his honor.
Ron Helus Courtesy of Karen Helus
“Make your life mean something,” she tells them. “Make it good because a lot was sacrificed for you to be here.”
Valley upbringing
Ron Helus grew up in Canoga Park. He was 9 when he saw his father killed in a traffic accident. A Shotokan karate instructor stepped in as a father figure, and Helus’ background in self-defense led him to a career in law enforcement.
Karen and Ron met at Pierce College and married in July 1989. Ron entered the sheriff’s academy later that year.
They adopted their son, Jordan, and Karen became a full-time mother as Ron rose through the ranks, working stints in narcotics, patrol, property crimes and the jail. He also participated in SWAT and taught firearms at the academy.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Union Institute & University and a master’s degree from University of Oklahoma.
NOT ALONE— Karen Helus visits with Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Kevin Donoghue and her son, Jordan, in her home on Feb. 27. Since her husband’s death in November, sheriff’s officers have made a point to visit her every day. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers
Ron loved lobster, brownies and rocky road ice cream, his wife said. He was a fan of guitarist Joe Bonamassa and OU football.
Above all, he loved bragging about 24-year-old Jordan. Karen said Ron was so devoted, he couldn’t stand to sit in the bleachers during his son’s sporting events.
“Every other dad was in the stands, and Ron was on the sidelines pacing back and forth,” she said. “They were best friends.”
The call
Ron Helus spent Nov. 7 decorating the Christmas tree with Karen in their Moorpark home. He wasn’t feeling well and almost called in sick. Rather than skip his shift, he asked his wife to make him a strong cup of coffee before he reported for duty.
In nearly three decades of marriage, Karen had never listened to police scanners, but the weekend before, she downloaded a scanner app onto her phone on a whim.
She said she doesn’t know why she started listening to it Nov. 7. She turned it on around 10:45 p.m.
Around 11:20, she heard her husband’s call sign go out. She tried to stay calm when she heard officers say, “Shots fired.”
Karen said she knew the situation was bad when she heard the tone in Ron’s voice as he requested multiple ambulances.
“It was so surreal because I’m hearing it as it’s happening.”
The last words she heard her husband say were “south entrance” as he entered the front door of Borderline. When her husband stopped responding to dispatchers, Karen started to panic.
“I screamed into the phone, ‘Ron, say something,’” she said.
Then she heard other officers say her husband was unresponsive and being taken to a hospital. Karen rushed to Los Robles Regional Medical Center to be by his side.
That’s where a surgeon and then-Sheriff Geoff Dean broke the news sometime after midnight that despite doctors’ best efforts, Ron had died from his injuries. He’d been shot six times.
“They were both sobbing,” she said of Dean and the surgeon.
Hospital staff prepared Ron’s body for viewing by draping him up to his neck in an American flag. His niece brought her 4-month-old son to say goodbye.
“This is your Uncle Ron,” she said. “He loved you very much.”
The funeral
Ron’s funeral at Calvary Community Church was attended by thousands of law enforcement officers from across the globe.
“I felt so much honor for him and was so proud of him, I couldn’t express it,” Karen said. “My heart was so full. I know he was watching over us and looking down on it.”
Months later, Karen met Dep. Kevin Alldredge, who put himself in harm’s way to pull Ron’s body out of the restaurant in the middle of the melee.
“He told me, ‘I couldn’t leave my sarge there,’” she said.
Undersheriff Chris Dunn knew Helus for 25 years. He said his friend was caring, conscientious and kind.
“He never took shortcuts,” Dunn said.
Sgt. Bob Fleming said Helus never became jaded about people and used his sense of humor to deal with the stress of the job. He said he’s not surprised his friend rushed into danger to help others.
“Our main goal is to go home at the end of a shift, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to keep you from running into a situation like he did,” Fleming said.
Karen went to Borderline to walk through the place where her husband made the ultimate sacrifice. Borderline is in the same building that used to house Charley Brown’s, the restaurant where Ron had proposed and where the couple held their wedding reception.
When she first entered the building after her husband’s death, her thoughts went to memories of their wedding.
“I had a nice feeling first. That made it easier,” she said.
New beginnings
Senior Dep. Becky Purnell met Ron Helus after she joined the force in 1993. After Ron died, she was part of the honor guard that kept watch over his casket for seven days from the time he left the hospital to when he was buried at Pierce Brothers cemetery in Westlake Village.
At Ron’s graveside, Purnell folded the flag that was draped over his coffin and presented it to Karen and Jordan.
“He was never by himself,” Purnell said.
Now Karen is never by herself.
Since Ron’s death, Purnell and other police officers have been a constant presence in the Helus home.
Karen has received thousands of thank-you cards, letters and pieces of art honoring her husband. She said it’s impossible for her to thank the VCSO and the community at large, including the Los Angeles Rams, for the support she’s received.
“I’m just so grateful,” she said. “It doesn’t take it away, but it helps.”
The Heluses would have celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary July 1. Karen said she now lives to honor her husband’s legacy.
“That’s all that matters now,” she said.
She said she feels the worst for Jordan, who got to spend only 24 years with his father.
After Ron’s death, the Heluses’ 16-year-old neighbor, Rachel Coleman, contacted Guide Dogs of America and asked the organization to give “Aunt Karen” a dog that hadn’t passed their training.
Guide Dogs let Karen skip a seven-year waiting list and sent her Zion, a golden retriever. His name means “new beginnings.”
He has brown eyes. Just like Ron’s.
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