Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub to focus on healing agency in tragedies' aftermath

A series of terrible circumstances awaited Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub when he took over as head of the county’s largest law enforcement agency. 

Twelve people, including a 29-year veteran of the department he now leads, were killed when a gunman entered a Thousand Oaks bar on Nov. 7 and opened fire before turning the gun on himself. Less than 24 hours after the county’s deadliest shooting, wind-fed flames of the Woolsey and Hill fires had sheriff’s deputies knocking on doors warning thousands of residents about the impending danger. 

He would step into the role left open by his predecessor Geoff Dean on Nov. 10. The 51-year-old Ventura native felt bad that Dean’s 41-year tenure in law enforcement ended the way it did and at times, he would even feel bad for himself for inheriting the situation.

During those times, he’d tell himself to deal with it and show people that what he said on the campaign trail was the truth. 

“And I’m like, ‘Hey, suck it up, buttercup, and get out there and put your best foot forward because people are relying on you to do that,’” Ayub said. 

Although he was appointed sheriff Nov. 6, his term officially started Jan. 8 with a swearing-in ceremony at the Ventura County Board of Supervisors’ meeting alongside other top county officials.

But in the two months since he moved into Dean’s old office, he’s experienced some of the most traumatic, dangerous and stressful incidents law enforcement officers ever have to face.

All eyes were on him as he took command of a department that oversees jail facilities and polices the communities of Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai and the county’s unincorporated areas. 

Sworn and civilian alike, 1,232 employees watched as he took office. 

“Bill stepped up to the pressure right away,” said Undersheriff Monica McGrath. 

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In the short time, she has seen him take careful thought and input from those around him in the things he does. He’s an intelligent man on his own and values the opinions and experience of others, McGrath said. 

That openness and communication are partly what McGrath said made her come out of retirement and take the undersheriff position when Ayub approached her with the offer. The former Camarillo police chief retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 only to come back as the first woman undersheriff in the agency’s history and Ayub’s second-in- command. 

As things begin to settle down from the tragic events of November, Ayub, McGrath and the rest of the executive staff — Assistant Sheriffs Chris Dunn and Eric Dowd — can begin focusing on the future of the agency and how to heal it.

Ayub said the agency’s priorities include adapting to new technology and police expectations, caring for an aging jail population and inmates with mental health issues. Groundbreaking on a 64-bed acute medical and psychiatric unit at the Todd Road Jail, a project in the works for several years, is scheduled for March 6. 

Once completed, it will “fill a significant void in the jail system,” Ayub said. 

He said he’s also having to come to terms with upcoming changes in the agency’s administration because seven of the 11 top sworn and unsworn employees who make up the command staff are at the “optimum” age to retire. 

“So in other words, they can be out the door any time now,” Ayub said. 

There are qualified and experienced people in the ranks to fill those vacancies, but the institutional knowledge that leaves with those retirements is still a difficult loss. It means training people about the inter-operations of the county and historical business knowledge, Ayub said.  

In terms of public safety, Ayub plans to build on a strategy started before he took on his role that involved expanding the agency’s crime analysis bureau to push out timely info on crime trends to staff and to put focus on the “small handful of people that really drive up the crime rate in our communities.” 

That includes researching the best ways to use advances in technology in the realm of public safety, Ayub said. Like Dean, he also plans to work with local lawmakers about legislation affecting the profession and public safety. 

In reality, though, Ayub said he understands the effects of the trauma left in the wake of the Borderline shooting and wants staff members to have the resources they need to get through it.

“I really admire his care and sensitivity to people who have gone through trauma, and we have to make sure we keep up on that, keep the communication lines open,” McGrath said. 

Even for himself, Ayub said, it still seems surreal. Not to mention, if you told him five years ago this would be his job, he said he wouldn’t have believed you. 

He never saw himself as sheriff. He was always the guy behind the scenes, and the idea of campaigning didn’t appeal to him, Ayub said. 

That changed when Dean, his predecessor, announced in a Jan. 3, 2018, email to staff that he was retiring and not seeking re-election. Then Ayub reassessed and looked to see who else would be around to fill the role, he said. The undersheriff during Dean’s term, Gary Pentis, was also retiring. 

Ayub decided the time was right for him to step up. He views the job as a tremendous honor but also as a sacrifice due to the public eye and the scrutiny that comes along with it. 

And in that first week as sheriff, Ventura County was thrust into the national spotlight. 

Ayub said from a young age, he’s never liked public speaking but his first public act as sheriff was a speech in front of hundreds of people at the memorial service for sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, the deputy who died in the Borderline massacre.

Adding to the difficulty in that first week, Ayub said his executive team hadn’t started yet. That didn’t stop McGrath from attending Helus’ memorial in uniform to sit side by side with Ayub. 

She found him to be cool, calm and collected while speaking passionately about the slain deputy tragically killed by friendly fire from a California Highway Patrol officer as the pair responded to the active shooter. 

Ayub was spot on and represented the agency with Helus’ service incredibly well, McGrath said. She was proud to be seated next to him. 

Other people were impressed, too, including Dean. 

But Ayub, exhausted and nervous, wasn’t so sure about how it went. 

Above all, he didn’t want to embarrass Helus’ wife or son. He wanted to make them and the agency proud, Ayub said. Part of what led him to a career in law enforcement was the familial network of people, and in his speech, he wanted to make them feel supported, he said.  

So he went back and watched a video of the speech.

“I always viewed the role of the sheriff as the primary ambassador for the agency to the community, and I have an expectation that the sheriff presents well, speaks well, exudes some confidence yet isn’t arrogant. I wanted to look for those things,” Ayub said. 

And if those things weren’t there, he knew what to work on for the next speech, he said. 

It’s not a far cry from the thought and time he put into preparing for his first promotion ceremony on Jan. 9, McGrath said. She appreciated that Ayub took the time to find out about each person and their promotion in advance of the ceremony. 

“Every time I hear him speak, I’m more impressed,” McGrath said.