Warriors Honor Fallen Santa Cruz Police Officers

Hundreds of first responders joined a packed house at the Santa Cruz Warriors game Monday to honor the two Santa Cruz Police officers slain last month, Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and Det. Elizabeth Butler.

Both officers families were there as team president Jim Weyermann unveiled Warriors jerseys with the badge numbers of the fallen officers on them. 

• Santa Cruz Police Det. Elizabeth Butler and Det. Butch Baker

Santa Cruz police Det. Butch Baker and Det. Elizabeth Butler were shot and killed by a former U.S. Army soldier last month while investigating a sexual assault case.

The Warriors retired jerseys with the officers' names and badge numbers during Public Safety Night.

PHOTOS: Santa Cruz' fallen heroes

The Santa Cruz Warriors are the NBA Golden State Warriors' Development-League team and first-ever professional sports team to exist in Santa Cruz.

“The greatest honor a basketball team can award anyone is the retirement of their jerseys,” said Jim Weyermann, president of the Santa Cruz Warriors.

“It signifies the highest level of performance and contribution of an individual to the goals and objectives of the team. In this case, Baker and Butler gave the ultimate sacrifice for the good of this community and, as such, we believe they should be recognized in this way.

"Our hope is that their story will be told for generations to come, as every person who walks in the arena will have the opportunity to see the jerseys and we will have the opportunity to tell their story.”

The team gave two jerseys to Butler and Peter Wu's two sons, Joaquin, 5, and Stellan, 2, who put them on during the game.

Police chiefs and emergency services directors took the court for a salute and were joined by SCPD's honor guard.

Baker's wife, Kelly, and son, Adam were also at the game with a group of friends wearing shirts in honor of the two officers.