Deputies who visited Elliot Rodger’s apartment last month in response to reports that he had posted threatening videos online acted in accordance with state law and department policy, a report released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday afternoon stated.
The report revealed that deputies did not watch the videos or check whether Rodger owned firearms at the time of the “check the welfare” call on April 30. The Sheriff’s Office was first alerted to the videos by a staff member at the County Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Service’s hotline who was contacted by Rodger’s mother and someone claiming to be his friend.
The department is in the midst of an internal investigation examining its handling of the welfare check and whether anything could have been done to prevent Rodger’s killing spree Friday, which left six victims dead and 13 injured.
“This is one of the most complex investigations in the history of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office,” the statement said.
Four deputies, a university police officer and a dispatcher-in-training responded to the welfare call at 10:17 p.m. While these types of calls typically only require two deputies, the report said two other deputies who were familiar with Rodger’s petty theft case against his roommate joined the two deputies on call at the time.
According to the statement, the deputies interviewed Rodger outside his apartment and found him to be “shy, timid and polite.”
“Rodger told them he was having trouble fitting in socially in Isla Vista and the videos were merely a way of expressing himself,” the statement said.
The deputies said they did not have reason to believe Rodger was an immediate threat and no cause to put him under an involuntary mental hold. Rodger’s mother was called at the scene, and Rodger was given information on various local services he could contact if he needed help.
On the night of the killings, Rodger emailed his 137-page manifesto to several people including his mother, father and therapist at 9:18 p.m., a minute after he uploaded his final video to YouTube. Gunshots were first reported at 9:27 p.m.
The therapist first saw the email at 10:00 p.m. and contacted the police at 10:11 p.m., the report said. The police were not aware of Rodger’s “retribution” video or his manifesto until 10:26 p.m., a full hour after the rampage had begun. A family friend of the Rodgers said his parents rushed to Isla Vista immediately after seeing the email but arrived too late to prevent the tragedy, according to NBC News.
It is disappointing that the same Sheriff that has no problem sending plainclothes sting officers into parties to hand out alcohol violations can’t be bothered to review the youtube postings and enter Elliot’s room given that a medical professional has said that he is off his rocker.
Jadk-booted arses one minute, concerned about your liberties the next.
But you’re not dealing with the LAPD here. The Sheriffs are not big town law enforcement, and expecting them to act like super professional law enforcement is unrealistic. And, a number of sheriffs, particularly the older ones, were probably furious at college kids–any college kids–after Deltopia. Even though the guy that caused the big problem was from out of town, some of those sheriffs probably decided to spend more time than was warranted (if any was), hasseling UCSB kids, and turning a lot of kids who were inclined to favor law enforcement into kids who are pretty cynical about them… Read more »
Running toward the sound of gunfire is actually the safest thing to do. If you are running away, the odds that you’ll get surprised by the shooter (shot in the face) or shot in the back go way up.
This conditioning in the active shooter training is good. I am glad it worked. It is better than the old practice of setting up a perimiter and ppicking up the bodies a few hours later.
The UCPD and the Sheriff’s Dept. are the problem. Raoul Duke is more then right about misplaced priorities and failure of basic common sense on the part of these agencies. Did you not read my screed on their past abuses? If not here it is: Put the blame where it belongs – with the Regents and the UCPD – When the police got the report of Rodger Elliot’s attempt to push girls off a ten-foot ledge, they had sufficient grounds for an arrest. There were multiple witnesses to his actions, which, besides the physical assault, included verbal threats to kill… Read more »