After a somber hour-long procession with more than 200 officers from around the country, the city of San Jose held a memorial service on Thursday for slain Officer Michael Johnson — the 12th police officer killed in the department’s 166-year history.
Mourners remembered an officer with "Yoda"-like knowledge, who could bake a mean cheesecake, became a jiu-jitsu sensei, loved his family and "did everything big," his sister said. At one point, his friend asked the audience of thousands to give Johnson a standing ovation, which they did, cheers and claps reverberating throughout the SAP Center.
"You are the reason we do what we do," San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia told the community, as he led off the service, choking up when he described Johnson as his "fallen brother." "Thank you for allowing your hero, and our hero, to wear this uniform."
Johnson, 38, was killed March 24 when he arrived to an apartment complex on Senter Road to help a man who was despondent, suicidal and threatening to harm himself and others, police said. When Johnson arrived, 57-year-old Scott Dunham took out a rifle and killed Johnson from his balcony. Dunham's family later said the retired college gardener suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and alcoholism.
"This is the toughest thing I ever had to do," San Jose Police Chief Larry Esquivel said, calling Johnson both a "warrior" and a "guardian." He recalled the last time the department suffered an officer death, when Johnson's police academy classmate — Jeffrey Fontana — was killed in 2001 during a vehicle stop. And he took the time to remind the audience how dangerous a police officer's job is every single day. When he got the call from Garcia with the "worst possible news ever," Esquivel said, "My heart sank. I was sickened. I felt like I had just been hit with a sledgehammer."
Esquivel added that he hopes that the community spirit that arose in the wake of Johnson's death can be "harnessed" and put to good use in the future.
Before the service, hundreds of officers from all over the country lined up to salute and say goodbye as Johnson's body was driven from the funeral home in Los Gatos to San Jose. Paul Ayoob, a former San Jose police officer for 26 years, was one of them. "We owe it to him to pay our respect. He paid the ultimate price," Ayoob said.
According to his obituary in the Mercury News, Johnson was the son of a former Army police officer, David Johnson, who later worked for the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department. After his parents divorced, he moved to South San Jose with his mother, Katherine Decker, and his sister in 1988.
Sister Jamie Radack said when they were young, her brother looked up to their dad, the most "bad ass" cop around. And when they were little, Johnson always got to be the cop, and she had to play the bad guy. Good thing, she quipped, she grew up to be a lawyer. But Radack spent most of the time talking about how her brother loved to do "everything big," from baking the best cheesecake to earning his blackbelt in jui-jitsu and becoming a sensei. And when "he loved, he loved with all his heart," Radack said, adding that her brother came to every family gathering he could, wrestling with his niece and nephew and having regular dinners with Mom.
Johnson's first job was delivering the Mercury News, and he graduated in 1995 from Gunderson High School, where he was captain of the chess team and "excelled in math and science," his family said.
It was while he was working at Good Guys in his 20s, Johnson befriended a San Jose police officer, which led him on his career path, Esquivel recounted.
Johnson joined the San Jose Police Academy in 2001, working for 14 years as a patrolman, court liaison and presciption drug fraud specialist. At the time of his death, his family said he had been promoted to field training officer, assigned to the covert response unit. He also was a "skilled marksman," his family said, who will be inducted posthumously to the Police and Fire Games of Fame this year.
Johnson is survived by his wife Nicole, or "Nikki." The two were married in a civil ceremony in 2013, but had planned a formal wedding ceremony on Aug. 29 in Santa Cruz. They had hoped to have a family, the obituary states, but for the time being cared for their cat, Seymour, and their pug, Willy.
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The service was attended by former San Jose mayors, CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Congressman Mike Honda, state Sen. Jim Beall, Assemblymen Kansen Chu and Mark Stone, and representatives from the offices of U.S. senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein.
San Jose Diocese Bishop Patrick McGrath also attended, offering prayers and adding that he knows Johnson is "safe" in heaven. "Mike was like one of those meteorites," McGrath said, "that flashes across the sky from time to time."
#SJFD hangs #USA flag at #SAP for #MichaelJohnson #memorial pic.twitter.com/4DkkmrXSlt — RobertHanda (@RHandaNBC) April 2, 2015
Thank you for your service Officer Michael Johnson. Rest in peace https://t.co/Im0stNLg4T — Kris Sanchez (@KrisNBC) April 2, 2015
NBC Bay Area's Robert Handa, Michelle Roberts, Kris Sanchez, Christie Smith and Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.
