Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said the the ambush that killed the first two officers in the line of duty in the history of the police department was "a regular, routine matter with a non-routine outcome."
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Vogel was speaking in a press conference to let people know about the aftermath of the shooting and the state of still-pending investigations into how the department handled the call that led to the shooting of Sgt. Loren "Butch" Baker and Officer Elizabeth Butler by the man they were going to arrest for an alleged sex assault, Jeremy Goulet, 35.
Vogel said there were no procedures he would change and that detectives going out to arrest a suspect was a normal part of the job.
Sheriff Phil Wowak, whose office investigated the case, said that Goulet shot and disabled the two police officers with a .45 caliber handgun with five shots in three seconds. He fired three more after they were mortally wounded and then grabbed Baker's gun and fired a ninth shot at Butler.
A half hour later Sheriff's Sgt. Stefan Fish, who had been on his day off when he heard the call about the officers shot and Santa Cruz officers Sgt. Jose Garcia, officers Barnaby Clark and Tim Shields confronted Goulet, who had guns blazing.
Wowak said the four officers saved lives by stopping Goulet, who was intent on more mayhem.
“They walked through the gates of hell and discharged their firearms as they have been trained to do and ended that horrific day,” said Vogel. “The heroic actions of these officers cannot be overstated. They truly saved more lives by their actions.”
District Attorney Bob Lee said an investigation by his office showed that the officers who shot Goulet were acting within the line of duty. Also at the press conference were Mayor Hilary Bryant and Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark.
Goulet had been arrested on an alcohol charge Feb. 22, but it was unrelated and not known to the officers who first tried to question him at his home on Branciforte Ave. and then said they would arrest him when he wouldn't come out.
When they told him to come out, he said he would, but he surprised them by stepping out another door into an alleyway. Wowak said he fired the first two shots at Elizabeth Butler. One round missed and the other took her to the ground. He fired three shots at Baker, missing once and striking twice. He shot Baker twice more and took his weapon. He shot him again and then shot Butler again with Baker's gun.
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