Advertisement

Gunman who killed 2 Santa Cruz cops wore body armor, police say

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Jeremy Goulet, the man suspected of killing two Santa Cruz police officers Tuesday, was wearing body armor and carrying three handguns, authorities discovered after Goulet was fatally wounded in a shootout with authorities, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak said.

Police suspect Goulet was carrying the guns of the two officers, Elizabeth Butler and Loran ‘Butch’ Baker, Wowak told reporters. The officers were killed on the doorstep of Goulet’s Santa Cruz home, he said.

The shootings began about 3:30 p.m. when a man, believed to be Goulet, opened fire on the two officers, who were conducting a follow-up investigation at a home, authorities said.

Advertisement

PHOTOS: Two Santa Cruz police officers killed

Wowak said the officers were wearing plain clothes and were attempting to obtain information from Goulet, who had been accused in a sexual assault case.

The officers had “no suspicion they would be in danger,” he said.

Butler was a 10-year Santa Cruz Police Department veteran, and Baker was a 28-year veteran, authorities said.

“There should be no suspicion or second-guessing on how they ended up where they were,” Wowak said. “They were just doing their job.”

Goulet had come to Santa Cruz, a seaside community about 60 miles south of San Francisco, “just months ago,” Wowak said.

After the officers were shot, Goulet allegedly disarmed them and stole Baker’s vehicle, Wowak said. He left the home but remained in the neighborhood, he said.

Advertisement

“It’s our belief that he remained in the neighborhood … due to the overwhelming number of law enforcement officers that were responding to the incident.”

Wowak said details have emerged about Goulet through interviews with people who knew him.

He was characterized as being “angry,” “destructive in nature” and as being “unhappy in his life,” Wowak said. Acquaintances suspected he was “either suicidal or homicidal,” he said.

Goulet was arrested Friday on suspicion of disorderly conduct at the same location where the two officers were killed, according to the sheriff’s online records.

News accounts from the Oregonian newspaper in Portland state that in 2008, a Jeremy Peter Goulet was sentenced to three years’ probation and sex-offender treatment after a conviction for peeping at a 22-year-old woman as she showered in her northwest Portland condo.

The Oregonian also reported that jurors convicted Goulet of carrying a gun without a concealed weapons permit.

Advertisement

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, jurors cleared Goulet of an attempted murder charge after determining his weapon went off accidentally during an altercation with the boyfriend of the woman in the shower.

He later served two years in prison after a dispute with his probation officer, the Chronicle reported. He agreed to prison time rather than undergoing court-ordered sex offender treatment, according to the Chronicle.

On Tuesday night, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office had taken over patrol duties in the city and was leading the investigation into the shootings.

The city of Santa Cruz was still reeling from the shootings. The city is best known for its famed surf spots, seaside amusement park and diverse community that includes a University of California campus.

But in recent weeks, a UC Santa Cruz student was shot in the head, another student was reportedly raped and a home-invasion robbery left residents on edge.

“This is a horrific day. We lost two exceptionally fine officers,” a visibly shaken Police Chief Kevin Vogel told reporters Tuesday night. “We need to figure out a way to bring our department together and get through this.”

Advertisement

ALSO:

Bobby Brown gets 55 days in jail on DUI, other charges

Slain Santa Cruz officer moved to city to study and stayed

Porn actor felt ‘persecuted’ by fuss over Pasadena college speech

-- Hailey Branson-Potts and Lee Romney in Santa Cruz

Advertisement