WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. _ Peace officers from across California made their way to Ventura County on Thursday morning to honor fallen sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus, who died in a mass shooting at a Thousand Oaks bar last week.
Police stopped traffic for Helus' procession to Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, where officers from Torrance, Long Beach State University, Pacific Grove, Novato, Inglewood and elsewhere came to honor Helus, removing their hats as they entered the church.
At least 4,000 people were in the church for the memorial. The sanctuary, which seats 2,900, was packed and more people were crowded outside.
Shortly after the memorial began, Billy Ray Cyrus played guitar and sang "Amazing Grace," accompanied by a choir. He asked everyone present to join in. He then sang his patriotic ballad "Some Gave All," which includes the words, "All gave some, some gave all."
He called Helus a hero who "touched the world."
Pastor Steve Day said the event was a celebration of Helus.
"This is an important day to come and to show our gratitude for his life," Day said.
Many, even though they didn't know Helus personally, came to thank him for his bravery and to honor him.
Brandon Apelian, 21, stood outside the church and gripped a blue flag that rippled in the wind. The California Lutheran University student knew Justin Meek, the bar's bouncer, who was killed in the shooting. Meek had recently graduated from Cal Lutheran with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.
Apelian said that, growing up in Ventura County, he felt that law enforcement "had my back."
"Now it's my turn to show them that I have theirs too," he said.
The many people attending the memorial jammed traffic. At the church, one woman approached group after group of officers, saying thank you to each one.
Helus rushed to the Borderline Bar and Grill immediately after the 911 call came in at 11:20 p.m. on Nov. 7. Inside the bar, the gunman was shooting. Helus went in through the front door and was cut down.
A California Highway Patrol officer eventually pulled Helus out of the line of fire. He died at Los Robles Regional Medical Center. Twelve others were killed that night, including the gunman.
Helus, a Ventura County sheriff's veteran, had been on the phone with his wife, Karen, when the 911 calls began to pour in.
"I gotta go handle a call," he told his wife. "I love you. I'll talk to you later."
In a tearful interview with NBC that aired Thursday, Karen Helus said she was comforted by those last words. She learned from listening to a scanner that he had been hurt.
Her husband, she said, would say that, in running into that bar, he was just doing his job.
"But you know what, he is a hero, and I want him to be known for that," she said. "He had a heart of gold, and he would've done anything for anyone."
During their morning briefing on the Woolsey fire Thursday, firefighters held a tribute for Helus. Ventura County sheriff's Capt. Don Aguilar, a friend, said Helus would close out morning briefings by reminding deputies of his "bottom line."
"Support your team, complete your mission, and go home to your families," said Aguilar, addressing a crowd of hundreds of firefighters. "So please remember today Ron's bottom line, and remember to go home and hug your loved ones tonight."
An honor guard then rang a series of bells three times to recognize Helus' nearly three decades of service.
The day after the shooting, crowds lined the road as the hearse carrying Helus' body was escorted from the hospital to the medical examiner's office.
