Hundreds of first responders as well as members of the community gathered to mourn the loss of Sergeant Gutzwiller of the Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office. SCSO Sheriff Jim Hart had the following to say about him:
“You guys hear a lot of the negative things that go on in policing today, but if you look around this crowd, people support what you guys do. Damen was a good man. He was a police man, but he was a good man.”
Sheriff Hart went on to say, “When I think about community policing and how we police here in Santa Cruz County, Damen is the picture of community policing”.
Jim Hart describes him as “kind, caring, patient, empathetic” and that Gutzwiller would “rather communicate his way through any problem in front of him”.
Firefighters, EMTs, and police officers from all around the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Area were present for this Sunday afternoon vigil.
Additionally, Sheriff Hart said he reviewed Sergeant Gutzwiller’s file and found zero complaints in his 14-years of service, as well as “many commendations”.
A press conference regarding this tragedy and the events that unfolded leading up to it will take place later today at 2 PM.
