Police knew of California gunman's videos, but did not view them

Credit: Reuters/Phil Klein

A picture of Elliot Rodger is displayed during a news conference by Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown (not shown) at Sheriff headquarters in Santa Barbara, California May 24, 2014.

A new timeline released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office shows police responded to a mental health welfare call phoned in by a county worker on April 30 and found a shy, timid but polite Rodger outside his apartment.

Four sheriffs' deputies, a University of California at Santa Barbara police officer and a dispatcher in training asked Rodger during the 10-minute encounter about disturbing videos he had posted online, but he said they were simply a way of expressing himself as he was having trouble fitting in socially.

'Sheriff's deputies concluded that Rodger was not an immediate threat to himself or others, and that they did not have cause to place him on an involuntary mental health hold, or to enter or search his residence,' the sheriff's office said in the statement.

'Therefore, they did not view the videos or conduct a weapons check on Rodger.'

A deputy called Rodger's mother and briefed her on the situation, then gave the phone to Rodger who told her everything was fine and that he would call her later, it said. The officers gave Rodger information on local support services and left.

'The sheriff's office has determined that the deputies who responded handled the call in a professional manner consistent with state law and department policy,' it added.

Typically only two deputies respond to mental welfare calls, but a few unassigned officers also showed up, given their past experience with Rodger in a petty theft case involving stolen candles, the statement said.

The statement gave new details of the night of the killings. The sheriff's office said authorities learned of the 'Retribution' video and the 137-page manifesto roughly an hour after the shootings.

That video was uploaded to YouTube at 9:17 p.m. PST (0417 GMT) the night of the shootings, and Rodger emailed the manifesto to his parents, therapist and several others a minute later. The first gunshots were reported at 9:27 p.m., and the rampage had ended 20 minutes later. [ID:nL1N0OF0O2][ID:nL1N0OF0O2]

The statement described the case as one of the most complex in the county's history, adding that the investigation was continuing. The sheriff's office said it would be making no further information available.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)