‘It’s his turn to rest. It’s our turn to take his watch.’
Fallen SJPD officer remembered as man of faith, dedication who cherished his appointment to the force’s motorcycle unit
SAN JOSE — Amid more than a thousand officers from across the region, it quickly became clear Michael Katherman’s impact on the San Jose Police Department went far beyond his 11 years on the force.
His academy classmates, who had exactly as much time on the force as he did, aspired to his passion, preparation and joy for the job. His commanders, who each had at least double his police experience, envied how he carried himself as a man of family and faith.
“Mike means so much to me because he represents everything I’ve wanted to become: a good moral person,” said Sgt. John
Carr, who supervised Katherman.
Carr was among several colleagues to eulogize Katherman, a well-respected motorcycle officer who died June 14 in a traffic collision, at a Tuesday memorial. A gathering of about 3,500 that included police officers from the region and well beyond sat solemnly inside the SAP Center in downtown San Jose to honor the 13th SJPD officer killed in the line of duty, and the second motorcycle officer.
Many wore their badges with black bands over them emblazoned with “3900” the fallen officer’s badge number. Many also made reference to his love of ice cream, thought to have been inherited from his mother, to the point he inspired mythology that he knew the location of every ice-cream and frozen-yogurt shop within 100 miles.
Tom Katherman paid tribute to how his son wove his Christian faith into all aspects of his life, from serving in the police chaplaincy to instilling those values in his sons, 10-year-old Josh and 8-year-old Jason.
“This alone is a pinnacle, a zenith,” Tom Katherman said. “You have no idea what that legacy means to his mother, Diane, and I.”
The elder Katherman said, “Michael loved putting on that uniform and he loved those who served with him. I’m sure for those who know him, you would agree, he is a hero.”
Austin Nielsen, Katherman’s roommate for two years at Simpson University in Redding, echoed that “Mike’s happy-go-lucky personality was coupled with a deep faith and willingness to put others before him,” adding, “Mike has left a legacy and it needs to be shared.”
Michael Whittington, a close friend of the officer since their days in the police academy, spoke to a recurring theme among the eulogies, mainly that Michael Katherman’s medium stature — about 5-foot-9 in shoes — belied what many would discover to be surprising athleticism and indefatigable physical spirit.
Whittington said he learned that lesson early and forcefully, when the person he knew as “Kat-Man” — a Valley Christian High School alum who would go on to play basketball at Simpson — knocked him over with a basketball pass. When someone doubted his skill, Michael Katherman would have a video clip queued on his cellphone showing him dunking on a regulation rim.
“The boy was built for power,” Whittington said.
Friends and family said Michael Katherman passed on his love for basketball and other pastimes — including dirt biking and fishing — to his sons. They noted it was a particular thrill for him to coach the boys in basketball, something he honed in college when he traveled to China and ran basketball clinics there.
“It was the kind of mentoring that Mike enjoyed and he was good at it,” Tom Katherman said.
At one point in the ceremony, Michael Katherman himself spoke to the audience, through an archived video interview he gave shortly after he was sworn in to SJPD in 2005.
“I always wanted to be a police officer. It’s always something you dream about when you’re a kid,” he said, later showing his appreciation to his family. “To my wife, thank you so much for your love and support, my parents, thank you very much, my brother.”
Carr remembered how the officer would turn down extra work, recalling him once saying, “I need to go home. My family needs me more.”
Police Chief Eddie Garcia and others remembered how Michael Katherman, an avid motorcycle rider, had to wait several years for a spot to open up on the SJPD motor unit. Once he made it last year, Garcia said it was tough to get the officer off his police bike.
“If he could have ridden his motorcycle into the locker room, he would,” Garcia said.
Garcia also took a look at Michael Katherman’s personnel file and found a note of gratitude from a woman whose troubled granddaughter turned her attitude around after a heartto-heart with the officer.
“This wasn’t an arrest or (citation). He was doing what he was trained to do before police work, to be a lighthouse” for someone on a dark path, Garcia said.
One way Michael Katherman made himself known in police circles was his involvement with the Keith Kelley Club, an organization within the department formed to help the families of officers facing hard times. In the same spirit, Michael Katherman recently rode in the Police Unity Tour bicycle ride in Washington, D.C. to honor Officer Michael Johnson, who was fatally shot while on duty in San Jose last year. Several local officers with whom he rode appeared at Tuesday’s ceremony in their tour jackets.
Detective Chau Pham, an academy classmate of Katherman, called on the attendees to contribute to the club to continue their fallen colleague’s commitment to the larger police family.
“It’s his turn to rest,” Pham said. “It’s our turn to take his watch.”
Before and after the memorial, more than a thousand officers stood at attention outside, including hundreds of motorcycle officers, as an American flag hung overhead from raised ladder trucks from the San Jose Fire Department. Michael Hensley, a sergeant with the Napa Police Department, said the turnout for the memorial is a testament to how much police forces support each other.
“We’ve had officers at other memorials from New York, so it’s not uncommon, especially in a line-of-duty death, for us to come together and support each other,” Hensley said.
As the memorial came to a close, Michael Katherman was formally signed off duty through a countywide police dispatch broadcast.
“9204, no response,” the dispatcher said, referring to the officer’s call sign. “Attention all units, please observe a moment for Officer Michael Katherman, badge 3900 ... 9204, Godspeed.”