Police officers from departments from across the Bay Area gave Mike Johnson an escort through the streets of San Jose to end the veteran officer's tour of duty.
Johnson, a 14-year veteran of the San Jose Police Department, was gunned down Tuesday night by a drunk, suicidal man during a welfare call. His death marked the first officer killed in the line of duty in San Jose in 14 years.
"Mike was a sharp guy, easy going, mild mannered," said Sgt. Paul Kelly, the police union's president who once served as Johnson's training officer. "I saw him get rapport with people on the street because he was easy going, so soft spoken -- good sense of humor."
Johnson was married and had no children. His wife was in Mexico when she got the news of his death and returned to San Jose Wednesday morning.
Johnson was also in the same academy class as Jeffrey Fontana, the last officer to be killed in the line of duty in San Jose.
Friends and strangers spent Wednesday delivering flowers to the doorstep of police headquarters, where there is also a growing memorial for Johnson. Among the mourners was Cassandra Hosseini, whose father was gunned down seven years ago by a robber.
"Unfortunately it's a pain that I'm too familiar, Hosseini said. "I know what the family is going through."
Kelly said like every police officer, Johnson knew the risks of being a cop -- a risk he himself tries to insulate his family from every day.
"You try not to let them thing this might be the last time, but in your mind you prepare yourself to make sure your goodbyes are there, and that you hope to be home," Kelly said. "That's what's important."
