A memorial service honoring two fallen Santa Cruz officers, Sergeant Loran “Butch” Baker and Officer Elizabeth Butler, will be held at HP Pavilion on Thursday, March 7.

A motorcade procession of 200 Santa Cruz County Law Enforcement and Fire/Emergency Responders will begin at 8:45am in Santa Cruz on Highway 17 and will meet at HP Pavilion in San Jose for the service at noon.

Sgt. Loran “Butch” Baker and Ofc. Elizabeth Butler were killed in the line of duty last Tuesday afternoon from a surprise attack by Jeremy Goulet who opened fire with a .45-caliber handgun.

“Our department’s in mourning,” an emotional Kevin Vogel said shortly after the shooting in a press conference covered by Santa Cruz Weekly. “This is a horrific day in my career as police chief and for our community and for our police department. We lost two exceptionally fine officers today.”

During an investigation, the detectives had been shouting with Goulet outside his front door when he burst through another door and shot them. Goulet died a half-hour later in a nearby shootout with police.

Thousands are expected to attend the memorial service, with family members, dignitaries and uniformed officers addressing the crowd. Gov. Jerry Brown and other elected officials are expected to attend as well.

The service is expected to last about three hours and will streamed online on local news stations for those who are unable to attend.

Memorial for Sgt. Loran “Butch” Baker and Ofc. Elizabeth Butler
When: 12pm, Thursday, March 7, 2013
Where: HP Pavilion, 525 W. Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA

The procession route, starting in Santa Cruz:
-Third Street to Riverside Avenue
-Riverside Avenue north to San Lorenzo Blvd
-San Lorenzo Blvd to Ocean Street north
-Ocean Street north to Highway 17
-Highway 17 to Highway 85 south
-Highway 85 to Highway 87 north
-Highway 87 to Julian Street west
-Julian Street to Autumn Street south
-Autumn St to HP Pavilion entrance

Read more about the tragedy in Santa Cruz in the latest report from Santa Cruz Weekly.