Police release names of two officers injured in North County shootout
Officials from the Arroyo Grande Police Department and the Kings County Sheriff on Friday released the names of their officers wounded in Thursday’s manhunt for an active shooter in Paso Robles and Templeton.
On Friday, the Arroyo Grande Police Department said Sgt. Michael Smiley was shot while aiding in the search for 26-year-old Mason James Lira, who is believed to have attacked the Paso Robles Police Department and killed a homeless man on Wednesday.
Smiley was shot when Lira revealed himself from a hiding space in the riverbed near Volpi Ysabel Road and Ramada Drive and began firing upon officers, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. Smiley was shot in the calf and suffered a non-life threatening injury.
Smiley is a 16-year veteran of the police department and an eight-year veteran of the San Luis Obispo Regional SWAT Team where he is a team leader.
According to the release, Smiley is recovering at home with his family.
Lira is suspected of shooting three other officers as well: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office deputy Nicholas Dreyfus on Wednesday morning, a yet-to-be-named CHP officer, and a Kings County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Thursday.
The Kings County Sheriff’s Office identified its deputy injured in yesterday’s gunfight with the Paso Robles active shooter a few hours after Smiley was shot..
Kings County Sheriff’s Deputy Blake Bursiaga was shot in the leg as he ran to retrieve a fallen CHP officer, who had been shot in the chest, according to a timeline provided by Sheriff Ian Parkinson Thursday.
According to Parkinson, Lira emerged from hiding Thursday afternoon, scaled a small hill on the riverbank, and headed toward a nearby vineyard. It was then that the two officers were shot, he said.
The CHP officer was shot in the chest, though his bullet-proof vest saved him from a more serious injury. Both he and Bursiaga were evacuated from the area and were treated at local hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.
Kings County Cmdr. David Dodd said Friday morning that he had just spoken on the phone to the deputy, who was assisting the local search as a member of that department’s SWAT unit.
Dodd said that while sore, Bursiaga’s doing well as can be expected. He said the department has received well-wishes from many members of the community.
“He is in being treated at a hospital on the Central Coast of California and is in great spirits considering the circumstances,” reads a Facebook post on the Kings County Sheriff’s Office page.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 11:16 AM.
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