A San Diego Police Officer, shot and killled in the line of duty, was honored Thursday in the first of two memorial services.
Jonathan De Guzman, 43, was shot five times at close range while in the driver's seat of his patrol car July 28. His partner, Wade Irwin, 32, was shot in the throat but is expected to recover.
The first memorial service for De Guzman was held at 11 a.m. at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Bonita.
Officer De Guzman's 17-year-old son served as one of the pallbearers.
With family on one side and law enforcement on the other, the flag-draped casket was carried into church, followed by hundreds of law enforcement officers.
Inside, it was standing room only.
Officers from as far away as Colorado, Oregon, Washington, New York, and Chicago attended the service.
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman gave the eulogy which included a few personal stories of the officer she has known for years.
When the mass ended, De Guzman's 11-year-old daughter walked out of the church beside her mother. Behind them were De Guzman's parents.
The family held a flag that was presented to the fallen officer's son during the service.
Local
A second service will be held Friday morning at Shadow Mountain Community Church in the eastern suburb of El Cajon, and will be followed by a burial.
Jesse Gomez, a construction worker with a criminal record stretching back to 1983, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of murder and attempted murder from the hospital room where he is recovering from gunshot wounds he suffered. According to prosecutors, the two officers pulled up to Gomez, who was on foot, and Irwin got out of this car to ask if he lived in the area.
Gomez, 52, allegedly shot Irwin and opened the passenger door, firing several times into the patrol car and killing De Guzman. Police have yet to determine a motive.
De Guzman died 13 years after surviving a stabbing while on duty, for which he received the department's purple heart. The 16-year veteran of the force had been stabbed in the right arm in 2003 after pulling over a driver for speeding, and he shot the aggressor in the hip after the man tried to stab him again.
In 2013, De Guzman was one of five officers who shot and killed a man who was wanted for a violent attack on his father and raised a shotgun at officers in suburban Escondido. The San Diego County district attorney found the shooting was justified.
