Sheriffs department and mike and his family moved there. So a lot of moving around in other parts of california when he was younger. But his parents divorced and then that was when mike moved to south san jose with his mother Katherine Decker and his sister jamie raddock. Jamie is the one we understand will be speaking today. But thats why you saw a lot of pictures with his mother with his sister. A couple with his father mostly from when he was younger when the family was still living all together. But at the Service Today, both his father and his current wife and his mother and her current husband will be there. His entire family. He is survived by wife, nikki, of course. They had gotten married in a civil ceremony two years ago. And they were planning a formal wedding ceremony and reception this summer in santa cruz that is not going to happen. For that his family mourns. And for that the community mourns. And there are so many there. They are still trying to get into the s. A. P. Center. Our matt keller is outside keeping an eye on all of this. Matt . Reporter yes, and San Jose Police officers are entering the s. A. P. Center, theyre filing in. And you can see theres a long, long line of them. Probably almost every officer in the department dressed in their blues and theyre walking into the s. A. P. Center. Theyre here because they have been given the opportunity to not have to patrol today by other departments here in the bay area. So that is why almost all of the San Jose Police officers are here and able to attend the funeral of their fallen brother officer mike johnson. Every city in Santa Clara County and Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department are patrolling now. You can also see that the Police Officers on their motorcycles are riding and theyre starting to file and park along autumn street here right in front of the s. A. P. Center. And they will also be attending the service inside. Its quite a display just seeing so many Law Enforcement officers in one place. And how theyve all said that its important for them not only to show support for the san jose pd, but this is a message to Law Enforcement all across the nation that were there for you, that this is a brotherhood and a sisterhood. And that if something bad happens in your department, that theyre going to show up and show their support. And i know that the police chief, larry escovel, certainly appreciates it. He will be speaking during the Service Today along with Carmela Harris and some clergy and the assistant chief eddie garcia. Theyre all going to be talking about officer johnson and officer johnsons sister will also be taking the podium to speak to all these officers and explain what kind of man he is. And we have learned from several people what kind of man he is. He is someone who is described as being very brave, someone who always had a smile on his face, approachable. Just a very unassuming officer who is very respectful while he was out there on patrol. And here we see that most of the San Jose Police officers have already filed in. It looks like the cadets are at the end where some of the Community Service officers as well. Of course, im looking beyond that. Now i can see maybe the Communications Department is behind them as well. So there are a lot more people that still need to enter the s. A. P. Center before they can start the services. All these motorcycles need to be parked. All these officers need to get inside. So it could be some time before the funeral actually begins. Well send it back to you in the studio. All right. Thank you, matt. And as we continue to wait for everyone to file in for the service to begin, i want to let you know about a couple of fundraisers for the johnson family. In fact, one is happening today. Former sharks captain owen nolan is spearheading another fundraiser at britannia arms which he coowns. Know, nolans sisterinlaw is an officer. So she is there at the center today. They want to raise as much money as possible. So all day today already under way, you can stop by until 2 00 a. M. The next morning, all sales, all receipts will go toward this fund. There is also going to be a lot of sharks, giants and other Sports Memorabilia in an auction and raffle. Please if you get the chance to support that at britannia arms in san jose. In fact there are two locations. So if you cant get to the one on the west santa clara street, theres also one on the expressway. And im sure that some of these folks are going to be going over there afterwards, the ones not on dupuyuetyduty. And one next month. This is a shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley. This is going to be on may 17th. And the proceeds from that a portion of those proceeds will go to Mike Johnsons Favorite Charity and activities in his memory. And the rest of the proceeds will go to help the underserved children in that community who are working with the shop with a Cop Foundation as part of an educational component to that. Some other ways that you can contribute and honor officer johnson in different ways. Well have that information for you on our website at abc7news. Com. And you know in the past week and a half weve seen every single flag weve seen around the bay area has been at halfstaff at your local fire department, at your local school, Police Department in memory of officer johnson saluting his service. This is a good reminder that today is a very good day to just talk with your local officers and thank them for the service they provide and for putting their lives on the line each and every day, doing their jobs so that we can stay safe. It might be a good time to reach out for that. And also, you know i saw one tweet that said heroes dont wear capes. They wear badges. Very true on a day like when when you recall what officer johnson did to protect the community that night when he lost his life. One of the speakers who wanted to be here today was governor jerry brown. But he had a sad thing happen in his family. His older sister cynthia kelly, died at the age of 81. She had been suffering from some health problems. Her interment is today. In his place is attorney general Carmela Harris. Shes going to be talking. And Mike Johnsons sister jamie, is going to be talking as well. And the program is going to end with some remarks by the chaplain, jim becknail. So that service is about to begin. As soon as they can get all of those hundreds and hundreds of Law Enforcement people inside. And as you can see, its getting close, but if you take a look at our shot from sky 7, there are, it looks like, its going to be a while. And its understandable that so many people would want to turn out and pay their respects to officer johnson. Even if they didnt know him they think of him as their brother in arms because theyre all connected. All Law Enforcement know every day they put that badge and their uniform on that something could happen. And they put their lives on the line every day to protect the community. A lot of folks have been tweeting about officer johnson and tweeting their respects for him. This from david cortezi who had run for san jose mayor but lost in the race to sam licardo. One family, we are all hurt using sjpd. And this one from the san mateo Police Department that i saw earlier. San mateo police with 30 officers joining the huge San Mateo County contingent today honoring fallen San Jose Police officer johnson. And heres another tweet. Paying my respects to our fallen brother sjpd Michael Johnson open to the public at s. A. P. And starts at 11 00 a. M. Lots of Law Enforcement agencies from all over the country. And you see thinblueline tweeted as well. We are connected in ways we could never have hajjed ten years ago. And i dont remember having this element when we covered previous funerals for Law Enforcement. But i think for people who want to just contribute in some way just to express their condolences, its such a nice, touching way to say what they feel. Its quick. But it lets the Police Department know that a lot of people are thinking about them today. Its nice to read those positive tweets who are sending their condolences from people who wouldnt be able to get to the services and dont know the officer, dont know the Police Department of san jose, but all over california. They can think about what officers do for them. And today is the day for us to honor them. Now, this is a day as well to reflect on how tough its been for the San Jose Police department. As you know from abc 7 news coverage, weve talked about issues between the police union and city hall over wages and benefits. And that caused many to take early retirement or people left for better paying jobs. Cost of living of course, really high in the san jose area. So as a result of all that, all that pressure, this department the San Jose Police department, is today nearly 30 smaller than it was in 2008. That is mind boggleing, especially when the consider the population of san jose of Silicon Valley has been growing by leaps and bounds. So these officers working with a smaller force today, big task big job putting their lives in danger each and every day. So this the loss of officer johnson, no doubt a blow to the department. However, they have come together, it appears, from the political standpoint in the wake of this tragedy and hopefully this will lead to even better new resolve for this community and this Police Department in the days ahead. Our matt keller has been watching these hundreds and hundreds of people filing into s. A. P. Center as we all prepare for the Memorial Service to get under way. And matt you talked to the police chief earlier today. Yes, i did. And it is interesting when youre talking about other departments and officers leaving. There are a lot of officers here from redwood city, santa cruz Sheriffs Department. We had somebody from the monterey Police Department who were former officers here at the San Jose Police department. So they are here. And they are, you know emotional, and they are obviously feeling the pain of losing a brother and not just from a former department. They worked at, but just a Law Enforcement brother as well. But a lot of people here are familiar with the San Jose Police department and familiar with officer johnson the people who worked with him. Thats why they felt compelled, especially compelled to come here today. You can see that the motorcycle officers are now getting off their bikes and headed into the center as well. All of the contingency of San Jose Police officers all the employees, the support staff that were lined up here on autumn street are now inside. So now the next step is to get all the people who were part of the procession to go inside. And once theyre seated it appears that the Funeral Service will be able to start. I spoke with chief larry escovel, as you said cheryl and he was very open about how this has impacted the department and how officers are trying to deal with the emotions of losing somebody in the line of duty and also the thoughts that this could happen to anybody when they go out on patrol here in san jose. So he was able to talk about the support hes receiving today from the community. I think its all of it. It really it. It really is. Its seeing his car, speaking and talking to his family, seeing the respect of his fellow officers, not only within our department but throughout the country. I think just everything about this day. That is very hard for me, for all of us. Reporter very important for him to show the family the support from the San Jose Police department, also the Law Enforcement community as well, make sure that they are sending he used the word enforce. We want to make sure that we show enforce, contingency and love and condolences to the family of Michael Johnson because those are the people who are grieving today along with his coworkers there at the San Jose Police department. We did see some people from the u. S. Army here as well. And also game wardens from the state, and we saw park rangers as well. Its not just Police Officers but also people who work in some type of Law Enforcement or the military. A lot of officers are from the military as well. So its really just a Big Community coming out here to show support for the San Jose Police department and the family of officer johnson. I continue to see many of these officers from the motorcycles are getting off and walking in. Some may stay outside as they will be also doing the procession at the end of the service. Theyll be responsible for bringing the family. Theyre having a private ceremony in the at the cemetery here in san jose. That the media is not invited to, the crowds are not invited to. It is private. They will be able to grieve privately on their own after this big public display here. Again, the community is also part of the grieving process. Whenever a Police Officer dies in the line of duty, protecting the community as they describe it as that thin blue line. So as again, the officers and the flag and the displays are all out here of the s. A. P. Center inside is where the ceremony will start with assistant chief eddie garcia welcoming everybody. And then they will go on to some music, some clergy the chief Carmela Harris and family members as well. So well send it back to you. Matt, before you go i can only imagine what it must be like gridlock in terms of just because all of those people you know, their cars and trucks and motorcycles, whats it look like outside in terms of traffic and congestion . Reporter you know, its not that bad. Part of the reason its not that bad is because they had it so blocked off around here and people were just kept from the area. So now that all the motorcycles have cleared the area and the officers have cleared the area, im seeing that traffic has started to come through. You obviously cant cross autumn street here at santa clara but thats not that big of an issue because theres not that much back there and there are are other ways to get around. Cars have lined up here on santa clara and they are free to go in all directions right now. But obviously when the funeral ends, there are going to be the same types of traffic issues in this area. So the best advice, if you dont have to be in the downtown area near the s. A. P. Center deardon is really close by, a transit hub here in san jose. So thats close by. A lot of people may be heading there. But you cant get there without having to cross the s. A. P. Center. Thats probably the best advice to avoid the area if you can, but if you do have to come here, make sure that youre south of the s. A. P. Center. All right. Matt, thats good advice. Also, id like to touch upon afterwards because when it ends at 1 30 there is going to be a procession to a private ceremony at oak Hills Cemetery. So between oak Hills Cemetery and the s. A. P. Center matt, there should be some traffic impact as well. Reporter yes. And that is all the way over on monterey road and kind of on the east side of san jose. Thats a long trip from the s. A. P. Center to that part of town. Obviously, when you have all those police cars and a hearse, even with a funeral without when you see funerals throughout the city you know, from private citizens, there are traffic issues dealing with that. But here when you have such a big contingency of officers, and youll also have the escorts from the Police Officers, it does cause some traffic headaches. You know this is just a reminder for people out there when you are going home today or youre picking up your kids from school this afternoon i think everybody gets impatient on the roads, but this is something that is obviously important to the community to honor and respect the Police Officer. And that also means maybe honoring and respecting the traffic and just understanding that you need to be patient. A family is grieving. A department is grieving and a city is grieving. And matt, that is such a great way to encapsulate this respect. I know youve been following this ever since that terrible shooting on march 24. You must have been struck by the absolute respect that so many people in the community have for the department in spite of all the angst thats been going on in terms of the contract issues and the pay issues. Reporter yeah. You know i grew up in san jose. And losing a Police Officer, we dont think of ourselves as being a dangerous city here. And we dont lose officers all that often. And the last one was in 2001. So these people are obviously a part of our community. Officer johnson went to gunderson high school. I grew up and played football there in high school, played basketball in high school. All these people are linked. I friends in the San Jose Police department who i grew up with as well. You know they know officer johnson. So people are really impacted by whats taking place. Its interesting, i have a friend in morgan hill Police Department who is patrolling in san jose today. And they all feel that obligation to come here and help out in whatever way they can. And it really is remarkable here in san jose, when you do lose an officer and just the outpouring of support and love from the community to the Police Department despite what has taken place over the last couple years with the pension reform issues and the department losing some of its officers. When something serious happens and its life or death, the community is here to support their department because its an extension of who the city is as well. You mentioned something very interesting, matt. That you feel safe in san jose. Growing up, of course i always remember san jose, every year, one of the safest large cities in america for many years san jose retained that title. And it is due to the service of men and women such as officer johnson who, of course, that night when he lost his life, went there to help the man help the man who eventually took his life. So we salute him. Please give your friends on the force our condolences, matt. Reporter will do. Thank you, kristen. Well get back to you in just a minute. Matt was talking about how traffic immediately outside the s. A. P. Center was not affected but its going to be later when this Memorial Service ends because youve got all those hundreds of people who will be going in different directions, some to the private service and then others back to work or whatever other responsibilities you have. So we want to check in now with our traffic reporter leyla to give us an idea. Leyla . Well, we are going to be seeing that motorcade once again heading from s. A. P. Center to Oak Hill Cemetery. That is just about 4. 6 miles away from s. A. P. Center. Its right off of monterey highway, highway 87 and tully road. So do expect to see some traffic impact there. That crosses over i280 as you leave s. A. P. Center. Again, its just under five miles away. Its about an eightminute commute. As weve seen throughout this morning, the procession a lot of street closures were taking place. But Oak Hill Cemetery much closer to s. A. P. Center than the darling fisher mortuary where the procession began. So we are going to see that slightly impacting traffic right now, but as matt keller was saying, it looks like traffic is starting to move through the area, and its not a very busy time of day. So i think trafficwise we should be in decent shape there. Cheryl. Leyla thank you so much. You know, they wanted to start this service at 11 00. The procession started just a few minutes late. The big hangup of course, there are so many people who wanted to pay their respects to officer johnsons memory. And to his service in the community of san jose. It is taking them a long long time to get hundreds and hundred hundreds of Law Enforcement and military soldiers and well wishers from throughout the city. And they are still filing in to s. A. P. Center. So we are looking right now at pictures from inside. So at this point the service is already about 15 minutes or so behind schedule. But if you are inside s. A. P. Center this is the slide show you will be seeing. And theres nikki his wife with nikki again. Can you see them in many different locations. Officer mike loved to travel. And he loved to scuba dive. They were practically newlyweds. They were only married for a year and a half. Their marriage was a civil ceremony, and they were planning on in august of this year, they were planning on a formal wedding. Sadly, tragically, that is not going to happen. So shes going to have to deal with this and his entire family and the community is just really grieving at this moment. So the way the service is going to work, once it does get started and kristen, youre absolutely right its at least 15 minutes late now. We are going to begin continuing to carry this entire Memorial Service for you. You know whats interesting, we like to invite you to follow some of our reporters who are out at the scene on twitter. David lilly tweeted an interesting picture and a very nice gesture that that snack bags and water were left on each and every Police Vehicle out there. And there are so many of them from a group called end of watch. And they have a fund. You know, theyre putting it on every single officers vehicle to thank them and to get them through today. Standing shoulder to shoulder with you while honoring the courage, service and sacrifice of officer Michael Johnson. Of course, you can follow david lilly abc7david. Matt keller there providing the insight from s. A. P. Center which, again, if you are inside waiting for the service to start, you are watching and looking at the slide show and with his wife, nikki. Many images from his world travels, growing up in the san jose area. Always always that big smile. That huge grin, that genuine happiness to be alive to be with people, to serve the community. And were seeing everyone from Army Soldiers to sheriffs deputies and Law Enforcement coming from afar. Even dallas texas and oregon representing here today. Gilroy, of course. Livermore. Some of the closer communities, all have officers representatives at todays Memorial Service for officer johnson. And if you would like to pay your respects to officer johnson and the San Jose Police department and you have your Second Screen with you while youre watching our coverage, please feel free to do so. And include us on that. Well share that with them. What were using today sjpd or ripofficerjohnson. And as we look through those hashtags, there are so many people who are sending out the word respect, its got to make the force feel really good today about this. On such a sad day. That so many people are sharing and honoring him in that way. Mmhmm. You know looking ahead, we told you about some of the fundraisers for the family the johnson family, in the works. The San Jose Earthquakes also holding one. They will be asking for donations during their march during their match on april 5th. A donation will be set up during an Easter Egg Hunt that will follow the game this sunday of course. The San Jose Police Officers Association is also accepting donations. And we do have information on that including the fundraiser at britannia arms pub today. That is all on our website. Abc7news. Com. The britannia arms is having two locations for you to attend later today. Once youre done watching this coverage. And okay. So were looking now at what we believe is the family of officer Michael Johnson walking into s. A. P. Center. For some reason we had thought that they were already seated but apparently that is not the case. Yeah. That appears to be his mother on the arm of an officer walking her in wearing black short sleeve dress right there. And hes got many family members. Of course, as we mentioned, he grew up here. So he does leave behind his wife nikki. Parents Daniel Johnson and Katherine Decker. Step parents dan decker and penny johnson, his grandmother, his sister jamie who we understand will be speaking today. His brotherinlaw, his niece you saw many pictures of him playing with his niece, amy. His nephew, eli. His mother and fatherinlaw, susan and antonio chavez, sister and brotherinlaw gina and jamison, many many family members of officer johnson arriving inside s. A. P. Center right now. There will be a number of speakers. Of course, the police chief, also Carmela Harris is going to be there, the attorney general. And she issued a statement after officer johnson had been killed. It was quite, quite lovely. She said on behalf of the California Department of justice, i extend my deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of officer Michael Johnson who made the ultimate sacrifice of his community and his state. And she said that the tragedy is a grave reminder of the risks that our Law Enforcement officers take each day when they put on the badge to protect their communities. So the service is going to begin with the assistant chief, garcia, who is going to take the stage. Hes going to have everybody be seated. Right now youre looking at officer johnsons patrol car front and center, where all of the floral wreaths are. Also, im told there are two cars on the stage but i cant see that at this point. But it just shows you how much respect the department has for him and his work. Our reporters who are inside describe it as a scene of being so quiet, you can hear a pin drop. So were going to stop talking right now so you can feel the mood that they are feeling inside. And you feel that mood inside where its one of just solitude grieving in silence no words of course can express how deeply saddened everyone is by the loss of officer johnson, the man with a big smile, the officer who trained young officers and one who had a successful life and was very much a local, who grew up most of his life in san jose. What you are looking at is a feed from inside the Memorial Service. These are images that were sharing with you from inside the s. A. P. Center where all the people gathered there are also watching this, images of officer johnson and his family and all the many things he did in his life. Such a vibrant life. Its going to begin with the assistant chief and then the bishop. Well begin with a prayer and then there will be Amazing Grace will be sung and then the speakers will begin. We will hear from michaels sister jamie. Due to the way the coverage works, we dont have the ability to just tell the camera to pan, but if you are able to see that the top if we could only see the top and center of the arena you know where they normally have the scoreboard for sharks games, they would show the players or the score, things like that, right now it is showing and displaying badges, San Jose Police, officer johnsons badge number, 3718, his photo, of course the badge with a black ribbon around it. Signifying the loss of this officer. The entire s. A. P. Center which is so used to cheers of course, at sporting events. Today complete opposite. It is one of expressing sorrow, one of honoring this officer, 14year veteran officer johnson who lost his life last week while trying to protect the community. He was just 38 years old. Just so heartbreaking. Just getting his life started. Everything was in place. He had his wife, and he was getting set to get a house. And his career was just on all cylinders. He was a Field Training officer. The guy who was going to be training the rookies like he had been when he was a young man. And for those of you who have just joined us he was in the same Police Academy class as another officer who was killed in the line of duty. Jeffrey fontana was just a rookie when he was shot to death. In 2001. So you know the department is thinking about officer fontana today as they grieve for officer johnson as well. A picture of him at the car, hands on the Steering Wheel when he was about 2 years old. You could tell he probably was going to become a Police Officer then with the love of his patrol car which, of course is inside s. A. P. Center this morning for the service. But in every picture you are simply struck by how happy he seemed from his baby days, you can see in that picture, quite active. That little mischievous look. Always ready for adventure. Perhaps panning for gold there. And inspired by his dad who was a military Police Officer in the
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