Shootings Prompt Visit From CHP Chief

VALENCIA —  Citing the death of his own brother in the line of duty, CHP chief Dwight “Spike” Helmick offered a message of reassurance and hope Tuesday to officers mourning the death of one colleague and praying for the life of another.

“You put your lives on the line every day,” Helmick told about 30 officers at an afternoon briefing at the Newhall California Highway Patrol office. “You’re making a difference out there.”

In somber tones, Helmick discussed the July 13 fatal shooting of CHP Officer Don Burt in Fullerton and the shooting a week ago of Rafael “Ralph” Casillas in Granada Hills.

Casillas remained in critical condition at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was returned to a respirator Tuesday. He is under heavy sedation, and doctors warned that the 31-year-old officer is not yet out of danger, Helmick said.

Casillas was shot by Terry James Parker, a 25-year-old ex-convict who fled rather than stop for officers who wanted to cite him for speeding. He led officers to his father’s house, where he shot Casillas on the doorstep. Parker then fled on foot. According to the autopsy, Parker shot himself before he was shot to death by pursuing police.

A memorial service was held in Mission Hills on Tuesday for Parker.

Helmick, the CHP commissioner, traveled to Newhall from the agency’s Sacramento offices.

In a grimly blunt reminder, he told officers that no matter how much training or equipment they have, they still face extreme danger daily.

“We’re still very vulnerable to someone like Parker,” said Helmick, who toured the scene of the Granada Hills shooting.

Helmick, whose brother was killed in a 1989 traffic accident while on duty, said he was on a 20th wedding anniversary trip to Carmel with his wife last week when he received word about Casillas.

He said he took a three- to four-hour walk on the beach and then “cried like a baby.”

“Don’t let this eat away at you,” he said. “It’s something you have to look at, talk about. . . . We’ll do anything we can to help you.”

The shooting of Casillas has resounded through every CHP station in the state, coming just two weeks after the death of Burt, Helmick said.

“Is there a pall over the state?” Helmick said. “Absolutely.”

Helmick said he received calls from Burt’s wife and father, who is a CHP sergeant, offering their help and support for Casillas. And, Helmick said he has been buoyed by the public outpouring of concern for Casillas.

In the intensive care unit, a couple stopped Helmick to ask about Casillas and the man told him: “When he [Parker] hurt your officer, he hurt us all,” Helmick recalled.

“It says volumes about how much they [the public] care,” Helmick said.

At the Newhall station, where Casillas worked for the past two years after six years at the West Valley office, officers kept their eyes firmly on Helmick, listening intently as the boss in the dark blue suit described his visit to the hospital Tuesday.

In one of the few lighter moments, one officer asked Helmick for a contribution to a fund he is collecting to pay for a paint job on one of the classic cars Casillas restores as a hobby.

After the briefing, Patrolman Rick Miler praised the CHP commissioner for the visit. “It was good to see the boss man does care and that he took the time to spend with Ralph’s family,” Miler said. “They need to know we do care.”

In an interview, Helmick said he believes Casillas and his partner, James Portilla, followed standard procedures. Deputy Chief Edward Gomez said nothing indicated that the officers should have called for backup help or taken any other actions.

“Nothing called for them to escalate it,” Gomez said. “That’s what is so hazardous about our jobs. All of a sudden someone pulls out a gun.”

Casillas’ family remains at the hospital, living in the waiting rooms. One of his sisters dropped out of summer school Tuesday, telling Helmick she wants to finish college when her brother can watch her graduate.

“We told his family that he [Casillas] is part of two families,” Gomez said. “The boss and I feel real hopeless watching him lie there like that. We need to stick together, and you guys are.”

In his parting words to the officers, Helmick said: “There’s nothing more important than watching out for yourself and your partner. Be careful out there.”