Crime & Safety

Funeral for Sheriff's Detective Jeremiah MacKay: Date and Time Announced

The service is planned at 11 a.m. Thursday Feb. 21 at the San Manuel Amphitheatre, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, Jodi Miller of the Sheriff's Department said.

The funeral service for San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Jeremiah MacKay, slain Tuesday in the final showdown with fugitive ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner, is scheduled next week in San Bernardino, a sheriff's spokeswoman said Saturday.

The service is planned at 11 a.m. Thursday Feb. 21 at the San Manuel Amphitheatre, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, Jodi Miller of the Sheriff's Department said.

MacKay, who worked in Big Bear and Yucaipa, was a 15-year veteran with the department, Sheriff John McMahon said Wednesday. He was father of a 7-year-old daughter and a 4-month-old son. He was a resident of Redlands.

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Yucaipa residents earlier this week recalled MacKay as a big-hearted man who was loved by many people, including employees of the San Bernardino Police Department.

Kirsten Fountaine of Yucaipa works in San Bernardino police records, and she heard the initial calls of "officers down" as the gun battle unfolded Tuesday east of Angelus Oaks.

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Fountaine was visibly shaken and struggled to hold back tears Thursday when she came to leave flowers at a memorial for MacKay outside the sheriff's Yucaipa Station on 5th Street.

"I know him through friends from work," Fountaine said. "I'm a breast cancer survivor. About five years ago he came to my 10-year survivor party, and now I'm mourning the loss of him.

"He had a big heart," Fountaine said. "He was such a happy guy. I didn't know him like everybody else did. I just wanted to come and pay my respects. . . .

"I was at work and when they said officers down . . . it's always discouraging when they say officers down, but when I found it was Jerry, Jeremiah, it was like . . . he was just so loved by everybody, from everywhere. There's a lot of people from our department that know him and love him."

Kayli Hawker and Eric Bamford came to the memorial for MacKay and Hawker shed tears as she spoke about him.

"We heard about it through family and friends," Hawker said.

"We're soccer coaches in the community, and a lot of the law enforcement here in town have kids that play in the league," Bamford said. "The YVYSO, Yucaipa Valley Youth Soccer Organization.

"The officers here in town, we see them all the time, our daughter did a field trip here recently and he was one of the officers here talking to the kids," Bamford said. "All the officers here are great, they support us and the community. It hits home what happened."

MacKay, fatally shot Feb. 12 in a confrontation with Dorner on Seven Oaks Road, was the second law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty during the ex-cop's alleged rampage.

Authorities believe Dorner is accountable for four killings in the space of ten days: a former LAPD captain's daughter and her fiancé in Irvine on Feb. 3, Riverside police Officer Michael Crain on Feb. 7, and MacKay on Feb. 12.

Crain's funeral was Wednesday in Riverside and he was laid to rest at Riverside National Cemetery.

Related News:

  • REDLANDS MOURNS: Slain Detective is Second Local Victim Tied to Dorner
  • DORNER'S LAST STAND: Fugitive Kept Trying to Shoot More Deputies at Cabin
  • DORNER INVESTIGATION: Gunshot Wound to Head Appears Self-Inflicted
  • DORNER IS DEAD: Confirmed ID of Charred Remains Made in Autopsy
  • VIDEO: Thousands Mourn Loss of Slain Riverside Police Officer Michael Crain
  • MANHUNT SHOOTOUT: Angelus Oaks Family Recalls Massive Response on 38
  • DORNER MANHUNT: Mountain Search for Alleged Cop-Killer to Go Thru Night
  • Murder Charges Filed Against Chris Dorner in Redlands High Grad's Death
  • Funeral Service Information for Slain Riverside Police Officer Mike Crain
  • $1 Million Reward Offered For Dorner's Capture
  • LAPD Chief Beck's Full Statement on Reviewing Dorner's Termination Case
  • MANHUNT: Search For Rogue Former Cop Continues
  • DORNER MANHUNT: Armed Deputies Vigilant on Snowbound Mountain Roads
  • Winter Storm Warning for Mountains Where Dorner Search is Under Way
  • DORNER MANIFESTO: Rogue Officer Posted His Plan for 'Last Resort' Online

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