The Oxnard Rampage : Officers Numb, Cautious a Day After Deadly Attack

It was a routine Friday morning stop for a veteran police officer: four kids playing hooky from Hueneme High School, laughing and jabbering and seemingly harmless.

*

But when Oxnard Police Officer David Klug spotted the truants, he immediately called in backup support and, within minutes, two black-and-white squad cars had joined him on the narrow street.

The day after a gun battle that left Officer James E. O’Brien dead, Oxnard police weren’t taking any chances.

Somber, reflective, numb, sad or scared, Oxnard police patrolled their beats Friday with a renewed dedication to protecting their partners and a heightened awareness about the dangers of law enforcement.

“This is something that really touches you, and I don’t think it ever goes away,” Officer Robert Cox said. “It’s really hit home.” Like every other officer in the Oxnard Police Department, Cox wore a black ribbon around his badge.

After some agonized debate, the Police Department decided to hold its annual Christmas party as scheduled Friday night, although the mood would be more sorrowful than festive. A department memo explained: “Many (officers) said that a night out might be just what they needed, to spend an evening with family and friends and to remember better times.”

But Friday afternoon, most officers found it hard to remember better times.

Instead, they found themselves dwelling on the shootout that killed a friend, partner and mentor. Again and again, they reminded themselves that O’Brien had performed his duties “by the book,” that he could not have dodged the fatal bullet, that he died in a job he loved.

“It’s a risk you take when you choose this profession,” Klug said. “Every day, you put on a gun belt and your (bulletproof) vest and every single day there’s a possibility that you could be involved in a gunfight. You pray it never happens, but you know it could.”

Still, Klug added: “You can’t ever prepare yourself for a fellow officer being shot.”

The nine officers who fired their weapons during Thursday’s chaotic gunfight were put on administrative leave, a standard practice after an incident requiring internal investigation. They will return when they feel ready to resume normal duties.

To fill their slots, Oxnard police administrators called in reserves and asked sworn officers to work 12-hour shifts through the weekend.

Nearly all officers doubled up in their squad cars Friday, “for their safety and emotional stability,” Sgt. Randy Coates said.

That doubling-up policy left the department shorthanded, with only seven patrol cars to cover the entire city. And although they tried, several officers said they found it tough to carry on as usual while coping with the psychological strain and the extra long hours.

“The mood’s just not there right now” for handling routine duties, Officer Marty Ennis said. “But in this business, a time like this is when we really need to be around. We can mourn, but we’ll have to do it between calls or during our off time.”

Grieving along with the officers, at least a dozen area residents sent flowers to Oxnard’s central police station on C Street, and an equal number dropped off bouquets at the site where O’Brien fell.

In sympathy, Oxnard firefighters announced Friday that they would temporarily suspend their door-to-door campaign to galvanize opposition to a proposal to consolidate the Oxnard police and fire departments. They also postponed a community meeting that had been set Tuesday night.

“We feel it would be inappropriate to disturb people in their homes at a time when many families and the city as a whole are mourning a loss,” said Bill Gallaher, president of the Oxnard Fire Fighter Assn.

As Klug drove his patrol car through south Oxnard, several people waved from their front lawns, including an awe-struck little boy carrying a plastic machine gun. But along with the sympathy, the officers also got some jibes.

Ennis said one angry resident told him: “Someone finally paid you guys back.” Others merely taunted from afar, he said.

To help officers deal with their fury and fears, a counselor set up shop in the Police Department. But while the nine officers involved in Thursday’s gun battle met with the counselor, many of their colleagues said they would rather work through their feelings alone.

“I never thought I’d be here to see one of us go down,” Officer Felice Epps said. “But nothing’s stopped--the world goes on. You’re expected to do a job. You can’t break down.”

TRUST FUNDS

Two trust funds in memory of slain Oxnard Police Officer James E. O’Brien have been established at area banks. Donations to the trust funds can be sent to Channel Islands National Bank, 155 S. A St., Oxnard 93030, or the Bank of A. Levy, 824 Arneill Road, Camarillo 93010, account number 02-216-703. Donations for O’Brien family members should be sent to the Oxnard Police Officers’ Assn., care of John Ahearn, 251 S. C St., Oxnard 93030.