Dorner manhunt: Security tight before funeral for Riverside officer

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Hours before services began for a Riverside police officer allegedly killed in an ambush by fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner, armed officers stood on the roof of the church and law enforcement waited at every entrance to the parking lot.

Security was tight at the Grove Community Church in Riverside, where a funeral service is scheduled for officer Michael Crain at 10:30 a.m. Patrol cars from multiple law enforcement agencies arrived, including the California Highway Patrol and police departments from Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, Riverside and Las Vegas.

Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday he will be at the funeral service. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told KTLA-TV he also will attend.

PHOTOS: Funeral for Riverside police officer Michael Crain

Crain, an 11-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department, was shot before dawn Thursday. Police said Dorner opened fire on Crain, 34, and his partner as they sat at a red light in Riverside in a marked patrol car. Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz called the attack a ‘cowardly ambush.’

Law enforcement ‘did everything they could do to bring this man to justice,’ Villaraigosa told KTLA-TV on Wednesday morning. ‘I see them run into danger again and again and again.’ Dorner was believed to have been last seen Tuesday inside a burning cabin outside Big Bear in the San Bernardino mountains after exchanging gunfire with officers. If human remains authorities said they found inside the cabin are identified as Dorner’s, the gun battle standoff would end a weeklong manhunt for the ex-LAPD officer and Navy Reserve lieutenant suspected in a string of shootings following his firing by the Los Angeles Police Department several years ago. Four people have died in the case, allegedly at Dorner’s hands.

FULL COVERAGE: Sweeping manhunt for ex-cop

Crain leaves behind his wife, Regina; a 10-year-old son, Ian; and a 4-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn, according to the Riverside Police Department. He loved attending dance recitals with his daughter and coaching his son’s baseball team, the department said.

Crain’s ‘family and friends knew his usually straight face hid a huge personality,’ the department said. He spent his spare time restoring a classic 1970 Chevy Nova.

Crain, a Marine Corps veteran, was deployed twice to Kuwait as a rifleman in the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, according to the department. He will be buried at Riverside National Cemetery.

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-- Hailey Branson-Potts in Riverside, Andrew Blankstein and Laura J. Nelson

Photo: Ann Nunez and David Nunez of Riverside wait Wednesday for the funeral procession for slain Riverside Police officer Michael Crain. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times