Thousands expected at officer’s service
SAN JOSE — Thousands of people are expected to attend a public memorial for San Jose police Officer Michael Katherman on Tuesday, with perhaps thousands more lining a procession route to give their final thanks to a man who protected the city for more than a decade.
Katherman died June 14 when his police motorcycle collided with a minivan at North 10th and Horning streets, the city’s 13th police officer killed in the line of duty and the second motorcycle officer.
Assorted local and state leaders, including California Attorney General Kamala Harris, are also anticipated to be at the 11 a.m. ceremony at the SAP Center in downtown San Jose, along with a procession of police officers from across the country, including more than 400 of Katherman’s fellow motorcycle officers.
When doors open at 9:30 a.m., it will culminate a week of nonstop memorial preparations on top of the efforts to support Katherman’s family, which includes his wife, April, and two young sons.
“There are officers around the clock with you, all the time,” said Nikki Johnson, widow of San Jose police Officer Michael Johnson, who was fatally shot while responding to a 911 call in 2015. “It’s comforting when everything else is a blur.”
Katherman’s death resonates with Johnson in particular because Katherman was vice president of the department’s Keith Kelley Club, formed specially to assist the families of officers who have been killed or seriously injured while on duty.
Johnson remembers meeting Katherman in May when he rode in her husband’s honor on the Police Unity Tour, a four-day bike ride that commemorates fallen officers and ends at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“I’m so heartbroken since they were so supportive of me and my family ... it was wrenching” to hear the news of Katherman’s death, Johnson said. She appreciated the continuous support she received from the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, and from members of the department who would check in, bring food, and figure out the logistics of what will be a memorial ceremony that can be daunting in scale.
“I don’t know how I would have gotten through without them,” Johnson said, adding that the assistance comes as the officers themselves “are hurting so bad.”
Officer Mark Hernandez, a former SJPD motorcycle officer who once trained Katherman, spent part of last week standing guard outside the home of Katherman’s family as part of a historical effort to ensure the family feels protected and supported. Hernandez was on the receiving end of such support after he suffered a serious motorcycle accident while on duty in 2013.
Hernandez has no memory of the collision, which resulted in over a year of healing. He later learned of what the police community did for him while he was in recovery, and is paying it forward for his one-time riding pupil.
“I am now seeing how people reacted to me, the rush of people at hospital, people helping out, since I had only heard of it,” Hernandez said. “That is the part that hits me, to see them doing it for Mike (Katherman).”
The motorcade for Katherman leaves the Darling & Fischer Chapel of the Hills in Los Gatos at 9:45 a.m. and
MEMORIAL FUNDS FOR KATHERMAN FAMILY
A family-sponsored fund has been set up to support the wife and two sons of fallen San Jose police Officer Michael Katherman, who was killed Tuesday in a traffic collision. Donations can be made online at Gofundme. com/29h673e4. The San Jose Police Officers’ Association is also accepting donations online at sjpoa. com/Donations/Default. asp, or by mail with checks payable to the SJPOACF at 1151 N. Fourth St., San Jose, CA 95112, with “Michael Katherman” in the memo line.
POLICE FUNDRAISER
On June 28, the nonprofit Police and Fire: The Fallen Heroes will be sponsoring a fundraiser to support a trust fund for Katherman’s family. Famous Dave’s Barbecue at 61 Curtner Ave. in San Jose will donate 35 percent of its receipts that day to the fund. Find details at www. thefallenheroes.org or 925831-2011. is scheduled to arrive at the SAP Center at 10:30 a.m. Police encourage attendees to take public transit to relieve congestion for both nearby streets and along the procession route. “Standard security procedures” will be in effect, and all bags and purses will be examined upon entry. A private burial will take place at Gavilan Hills Memorial Park in Gilroy.
With many of Katherman’s police colleagues in attendance, officers from other Santa Clara County law-enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol will be filling in.