A Poem to Honor Butch and Beth by Ted Rossiter

Ted Rossiter works for the Information Technology Division within the City of Santa Cruz Administrative Services Department.  Ted has been a friend and supporter of the Santa Cruz Police Department for a long time.  Following the tragic and unexpected loss of Butch and Beth on February 26th and after sitting near SCPD staff at the memorial service at HP Pavilion on March 7th, Ted was inspired to write a poem and share it with me.  I was so touched by Ted's poem that I have decided to share it on our blog.  Please take the time to read it.  I think you will find it to be a tremendously inspiring poem written by a good friend.  Thank you Ted!

With much gratitude, 

Chief Kevin Vogel

                 Thank You SCPD    

Thank you SCPD for working so vigilantly

To Chief Vogel who’s lead the PD, 105 and 172 so well

Thank you SCPD  for defending our community

To Chief Vogel you have inspired people, made hearts swell

Thank you SCPD because of you we sleep peacefully

To Butch Baker, joker, prankster and troublemaker

Thank you SCPD for dealing with what others don’t want to see

To Butch Baker, husband, father, officer, peacemaker

Thank you SCPD for caring and giving of yourselves

To Elizabeth Butler, advocate, defender and nurturer

Thank you SCPD for choosing a job you all do so well

To Elizabeth Butler, partner, mother, officer, recruiter

Thank you SCPD without you all there would be no SC

To Steve Clark the one asked to do so difficult a task

Thank you SCPD for believing in each other, good and justice

To Steve Clark...Governor, Paul Shaffer, comedian at last

Thank you SCPD for answering each and every call

To Dave Perry leader of the Honor Guard through it all

Thank you SCPD for everywhere through everything, years and all

To Dave Perry standing proud, straight, true and tall

Thank you SCPD for having such bravery

To Zach Friend for returning to help us all

Thank you SCPD for being a symbol for all to see

To Zach Friend inviting extended family to one and all

Thank you SCPD for continuing on through

To SCPD members new, current and old

Thank you SCPD for giving us all of you

To SCPD I dedicate this to two officers returned to the fold

by Ted Rossiter

Taking a Stand to End Gun Violence

Thursday March 28th is National Demand Action to End Gun Violence Day. Gun violence has affected far too many of us in the greater Santa Cruz area.  The murder of Sergeant Butch Baker and Officer Elizabeth Butler bring focus back on those who should be prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. 

The Santa Cruz Police Department is thankful for the people who work to keep guns out of the hands of those who intend harm and for those who work to promote responsible gun ownership. 

Bringing attention to this important issue locally is Shari Larouche.  She will have a table near Pacific and Cooper Street after 5 PM Thursday night.  Stop by and show your support as we move forward as a community.  Thank you Shari !!  

THANK YOU SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS!!!

Wow!!!  What a great night with the Santa Cruz Warriors. 

 

The Santa Cruz Warriors honored the memory of Santa Cruz Police Department Sergeant Butch Baker and Officer Elizabeth Butler with an amazing halftime tribute.  Jerseys were unveiled with their name and badge number and placed in the highest location inside the Kaiser Permanente Arena as a lasting tribute.  

In addition to the Santa Cruz Police Department, the Warriors honored all public safety with representatives on hand from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Capitola Police Department, Watsonville Police Department, Santa Cruz Fire Department, and Santa Cruz Regional 911.  

Thanks to the generosity of the Santa Cruz Warriors and local realtor Paul Locatelli, 400 tickets were sponsored for public safety personnel and their families to attend the game.  Families of Sergeant Baker and Officer Butler were treated to courtside seats for the game. 

The Warriors players stepped up too with a hard-fought come from behind victory to seal the perfect night!

We are overwhelmed by the support, love and caring shown by our community during these tough times.  Last night’s events will go a long way in the recovery and healing process.  We can't thank you all enough!!

All of these great photos are courtesy of the Santa Cruz Warriors/ Tim Cattera

 

Scholarship Fund Tops $300,000.....WOW!!!

We are completely blown away at the love, support and generosity of our community.  One way this is being shown is through your generous donations to the Sergeant Butch Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler Family Scholarship Fund.  

As of today, the fund has received $308,012

Here is how the money has come to us from the various funds:

Online                  $80,842.34
City-Mail/Phone  $104,081.75
Wells Fargo         $42,841.00
Bay Federal         $80,247.21

Absolutely Amazing.......

Burglary Suspect Arrested

Remember This Guy????

We posted these pictures taken from a surveillance camera in January.  

Detectives were hot on his trail prior to the tragic shooting of Sergeant Butch Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler.  Monday, they picked up the case and continued their pursuit.

Working through their informants, the trail led to Mr. Russo’s motel room at the Beachway Inn motel, at 619 Riverside Ave.  There, they found Mr. Russo and tons of stolen property, including the computer server shown in the picture.  Other stolen property included laptops, hard drives, women’s clothing & shoes, vinyl LP albums, and sports cards.  Mr. Russo is tied to a number of burglaries in Santa Cruz, and others throughout the Monterey Bay area.  We are still sorting through the stolen property to identify owners and open cases throughout the area.  

Here he is without his burglar clothes on:

Mr. Russo has a 22 page rap sheet mostly for numerous burglary, narcotics and stolen property arrests.  Mr. Russo admitted to our Detectives that he frequently sold the stolen property at the flea market. 

Scholarship Fundraiser at Derby Girls Tonight

We are touched by all the fundraisers taking place to support to Sergeant Butch Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler Scholarship fund.  We are grateful for all the effort and to those who have given.  

Here is another in a series of unique fundraising ideas

Timerie Gordon has developed the unique I Heart Cops shirts and hats.  She has women's ribbed tank, shirts and hats at the ready.  

She will have them available at the Derby Girls Bout tonight at the Kaiser Permanente Arena.  She came up with the idea and went to work.  Timerie writes:

When I first thought of it, I reached out to Philip Mekis of Sun Shops Inc. and sent him the draft concept. He contacted a graphics person he knows (Sandra Tam) to refine it, and provided their resources for me to procure the merchandise quickly. I then reached out to Cadillac Designs who donated printing the hats and decals and Cattos Graphics who donated printing the t-shirts.

Thanks to everyone!  Cant wait to sport mine around town.  We cant say enough about all the support and

   

coming our way!!!

If you have a fundraiser coming up get us the details and I will post on our blog and Facebook. 

Butch and Elizabeth "In Action"

Some Great Candid Photos of Butch and Elizabeth

James Durbin to Honor Fallen Officers

At the request of the families, James Durbin will be performing one song at the Memorial Service on Thursday March 7^th.  James is just another example of the local community coming together to honor our fallen officers.   We are looking forward to the community joining with us at the HP Pavilion to share this experience together.  A Heartfelt "Thank You" to James...we feel honored by your gift. 

Alternate Site to See Memorial and Transportation

The Santa Cruz Police Department recognizes the change in venue for the Memorial Service honoring Sergeant Butch Baker and Officer Elizabeth Butler has created challenges for some members of the community.   To help mitigate this, we have developed alternative viewing opportunities and transportation options:

Live feed of the service:

Kaiser Permanente Arena (Home of the Santa Cruz Warriors)

140 Front Street

Memorial Service starts at 12:00 Noon. 

Doors open time to be announced

 

There will be no tickets and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

In addition, Community TV and local television networks have said they will carry the procession and service on their stations. KSBW has indicated they will stream the service live on their Website.  

The second local viewing opportunity will be of the memorial procession to the HP Pavilion, by Santa Cruz County agencies that include criminal justice agencies, fire and EMS.  The procession is scheduled to depart at 8:45 AM and travel up Ocean Street from the beach area, onto Highway 17.  The procession will travel over Highway 17 and may be joined by other agencies in Santa Clara County.   

Limited transportation will be provided by the City of Santa Cruz via Metro buses to the HP Pavilion.  Transportation will be offered for those who want to attend but could not otherwise transport themselves.  Further details will follow on how to access this transportation option. 

We are also calling on and encouraging service organizations, neighborhood groups and our faith community to organize carpooling of their memberships. 

While the change in venue poses challenges, it provides benefits that far outweigh the difficulties.  The Baker and Butler families issued a statement saying, “We are extremely pleased we were able to locate a venue that would allow all supporters to have an opportunity to honor these officers together under one roof” 

“We are humbled by the number of people that want to come together and honor our fallen heroes” Police Chief Kevin Vogel said. “We all wish we had the local capacity to serve the thousands of people throughout the country that have said they want to attend. This simply wasn’t possible, so we’re asking that people either commit to driving less than a mile for every year that Butch and Elizabeth served our community and join us at the HP Pavilion or participate in the simulcast at the Kaiser Permanente Arena. These past few days have been very difficult and organizing a memorial that honors Butch and Elizabeth and accommodates the large-scale interest has been challenging. But we are pleased to offer a local option as well.”

Please note that the local viewing at the Arena and the memorial procession will cause some traffic delays. Our department will provide additional traffic impact information in the coming days.