07/27/2026
IN MEMORIAM – PHILLIP CAMPAS – END OF WATCH – SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021
It has been 5-years since Kern County lost one of its finest law enforcement officers!
On Sunday, July 25, 2021, at about 1:00 pm, Deputies from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call reporting an armed man – later identified as 41-year-old, Jose Manuel Ramirez Jr., the subject of a restraining order, was at home near the intersection of 1st Street and Poplar Avenue in Wasco. Screaming and gunfire could be heard in the background of the 911 call.
Responding deputies met a woman fleeing the home who said at least two people inside the house had been shot. The suspect fired at deputies and then barricaded himself in the home. The agency’s SWAT team was deployed, and a standoff ensued. At about 3:00 pm, the suspect opened fire on the SWAT team members as they approached the home. The gunfire struck Deputy Phillip Campas and Senior Deputy Dizander Guerrero. Both Deputies were transported to a local hospital, where Deputy Phillip Campas succumbed to his wounds.
At about 6:28 pm, the suspect, armed with an AK-47 rifle and a handgun, climbed onto the home’s roof, where he exchanged gunfire with deputies, according to Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood.
The suspect was shot and killed in the exchange. Inside the house, deputies found three people deceased with gunshot wounds — a woman, Viviana Ruiz Ramirez, age 42, and two males, Jose Manuel Ramirez III, 24, and Angel Ramirez, 17. Sheriff Donny Youngblood said the two male victims were the suspect’s sons, and the woman was their mother.
Deputy Phillip Campas, age 35, wore badge number 1392 and was a five-year veteran of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. He received the Medal of Valor, the highest honor bestowed by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Campas was also a United States Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his injuries sustained in combat. He is survived by his wife and three young children, ages 6, 9, and 13.
He loved his family, his country, and his job. Thank you, sir, for your services. Godspeed - Rest easy, brother - we will take it from here. Until Valhalla
