Trainee dies at reserve academy
Family shocked by Carson man's death
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

A 43-year-old Carson man died Thurs., Jan. 17 after he collapsed while on a training run at the Ventura County Police and Sheriff's Reserve Officer Academy in the 100 block of Durley Drive at the Camarillo Airport.

Gregory Chastang was taken to St. John's Medical Center in Oxnard around 6:15 p.m., where he was pronounced dead due to cardiac arrhythmia caused by ischemic heart disease, according to Michael Tellez, a deputy medical examiner with the Ventura County MedicalExaminer's office.

"It was totally a surprise," said Gregory Chastang's mother, Deloris. "He was a real athlete."

Tellez said Chastang, who was not married and did not have children, suffered "essentially a heart attack" brought on by the hardening of his coronary arteries.

Chastang, an employee with the Los Angeles County Probation Department, was about a week into the five-month program to become a reserve police officer, said Jerry Mortensen, assistant dean at Ventura College.

According to Mortensen, Chastang's class was in the middle of a standard exercise circuit in which the cadets run 10 laps, each an eighth of a mile, and then perform an increasing number of pushups corresponding to the lap.

"It's a slow run," Mortensen said. "Everybody has to run together, so you run just about as fast as your slowest runner."

Mortensen said Chastang stumbled and fell while running the sixth lap, prompting his classmates to turn back and offer him help. "That's when they determined that he had difficulty breathing," Mortensen said.

Chastang was taken by ambulance to the Oxnard hospital and pronounced dead shortly after he arrived.

Mortensen said Chastang's death was the first in the reserve academy's 28 years. The academy, he said, holds two classes a year with about 35 to 40 students per session.

Unlike full-time police officers, who must pass the more rigorous police academy, reserve officer candidates aren't required to have a medical examination before they begin the program.

Mortensen said the reserve academy requires prospective cadets to pass a conditioning test before beginning the program.

Chastang, a youth track coach, "did well on the test," Mortensen said.

The 500-hour reserve officer training program, offered by Ventura College in partnership with the Oxnard Police Department, instructs students on all aspects of police work, including criminal law, patrol procedures and firearm training.

The class meets three nights during the week from 6 to 10 p.m. and all day Saturday.

The academy's courses must be approved by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, a state commission which maintains the standards and guidelines for California police academies.

"The academy is a fast-paced, paramilitary style environment," according to the reserve academy's website. Because of its demanding course load, Mortensen said, the reserve academy has about a 25 percent attrition rate.

At the end of the course, reserve officers are sworn law enforcement personnel and may perform many of the same duties as a full-time police officer.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department is among several Southern California police agencies that use the reserve officers, according to the academy.

Deloris Chastang said her son "always loved law enforcement," and was excited to start the reserve academy. He hadn't yet chosen a department to volunteer with, she said.

Family members said Gregory Chastang, a youth track coach for more than 20 years, enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his 4-year-old nephew.

"He loved kids and loved people," she said.

Lisa Garcia, superintendent of the Central Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles where Chastang worked, described him as "a really caring individual."

Garcia said Chastang was a shift leader who oversaw about 60 teenagers, ages 16 and 17. She said he helped reduce "youth-on-youth violence" and was a standout employee within the county probation department's 500 staff members.

"He was the first to arrive every morning, and he was the last to leave," Garcia said. "Hour wasn't a factor when it came to getting things done. He was able to motivate and encourage the youth to do the right thing."

A service for Chastang will be held today at 10 a.m. at Maria Regina Catholic Church, 2150 W. 135th St. in Gardena.