Sheriff’s Office releases memorial plans for deputy killed in Ben Lomond ambush
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office is holding a procession and memorial for Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller on Wednesday morning.
A procession will begin at Cabrillo College at 7:45 a.m. The public is invited to view the procession from any of the following locations:
- Whole foods/CVS parking lot at 911 Soquel Ave
- Hook Parking Lot on 38th Ave
- Capitola Mall/Bevmo Parking lot on 41st Ave
- Cabrillo College at Soquel Drive and Park Ave
The memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. The doors will open to the public at 9 a.m. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early as seating is limited. Seating is spaced to abide by COVID-19 guidelines.
Ashley Kheen, public information officer with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, said the venue has been prepared to fit up to 5,500 people.
Those that attend are required to wear and mask and leave large backpacks and bags at home.
"It's emotional. When someone lays their life down for this community it's not an easy thing to send them off. It's nothing you can emotionally prepare for, but it's something we have to do for him," said Kheen.
Gutzwiller was killed June 6 when he responded with other deputies to a report of a suspicious van with guns and bomb-making materials inside. At a home in the 100 block of Waldenberg Road, the Sheriff's Office said the deputies were ambushed with gunfire and multiple explosive devices.
Gutzwiller was shot and pronounced dead in the hospital. Another deputy was shot, hit with shrapnel and hit by a car. He was released from the hospital over the weekend.
