Bill Text: CA ACR124 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Sergeant Damon Christopher Gutzwiller Memorial Highway.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 58-15)

Status: (Passed) 2024-06-20 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 106, Statutes of 2024. [ACR124 Detail]

Download: California-2023-ACR124-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Concurrent Resolution

No. 124

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Introduced by Assembly Member Pellerin
(Principal coauthor: Senator Laird)

January 12, 2024

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Relative to the Sergeant Damon Christopher Gutzwiller Memorial Highway.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 124, as introduced, Pellerin. Sergeant Damon Christopher Gutzwiller Memorial Highway.

This measure would designate the portion of State Route 9 between Lower Glen Arbor Road, at postmile SCR 8.13, to Western Avenue, at postmile SCR 11.131, in the County of Santa Cruz as the Sergeant Damon Christopher Gutzwiller Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, erect those signs.

Digest Key

Fiscal Committee: YES  

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Bill Text

WHEREAS, Damon Christopher Gutzwiller was born at Santa Monica Hospital in Santa Monica, California, on June 29, 1981, to Vicki Gutzwiller; and

WHEREAS, With his positivity, genuine smile, contagious laugh, and heart of gold, Damon always found the very best in every person he met; and

WHEREAS, Damon was a local child who attended schools in the County of Santa Cruz, graduating from Aptos High School in 1999 and earning an associate degree from Cabrillo College in Aptos; and

WHEREAS, While attending Cabrillo College, Damon showed a special interest in serving his community and began working for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office at Cabrillo College as a Campus Police Assistant and Office Specialist; and

WHEREAS, It was during these years that Damon was introduced to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Volunteer Program and became a valued member of the volunteer staff, becoming a volunteer member of the Santa Cruz County Search and Rescue team where he began serving as a member in 2005; and

WHEREAS, In 2006 Damon was hired by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and attended the Gavilan College Police Academy, graduating with class SB 79; and

WHEREAS, During his career with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Damon worked as a patrol deputy, court security bailiff, field training officer, TASER instructor, SWAT operator, Unmanned Aerial Systems Operator, CSI detective, and Alcohol Compliance Officer, promoting to Sergeant in 2019, when he supervised a patrol shift; and

WHEREAS, In his exceptionally accomplished 14-year career at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Damon received 10 commendations for extraordinary work; and

WHEREAS, Damon was a beloved member of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office family, universally loved by the men and women he worked with and supervised; and

WHEREAS, Damon was famous throughout the office for his ever-present smile, extraordinary patience, calm manner, and incredible sense of humor that left lasting impressions with those he met even after the briefest of encounters; and

WHEREAS, While his personality made him a favorite among his coworkers, his deep knowledge, dedication to community and service, bravery, fairness, and wit made him very successful in a difficult profession; and

WHEREAS, Damon never buckled or surrendered to anything that would compromise his unshakeable honesty, loyalty, and integrity; and

WHEREAS, Damon’s career excellence will serve as an example for his brothers and sisters at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office for years to come; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, Damon met the love of his life, Favi, who loved him for all the same reasons that his Sheriff’s family loved him, including his humor, patience, loving nature, giant heart, and ever-present smile; and

WHEREAS, Deeply in love, Damon and Favi shared so much together — a wonderful home in the Soquel hills, countless trips to Lake Tahoe, walks on the beach, and, in 2018, they welcomed a son, Carter, into their lives; and

WHEREAS, Damon was an incredible father to Carter; and

WHEREAS, No matter what he was doing, Damon would drop everything to play with his son; and

WHEREAS, Damon loved singing, dancing, and reading books and relished every moment he could spend with Carter; and

WHEREAS, On the afternoon of June 6, 2020, in Ben Lomond, California, while Damon was supervising a suspicious-circumstance call related to potential bombmaking material, he was ambushed and shot by a lone suspect and passed away on the scene; and

WHEREAS, The suspect also shot another deputy, detonated a bomb, and struck the same deputy with a car, engaging in a gun battle with two Department of the California Highway Patrol officers before fleeing the scene; and

WHEREAS, The suspect was apprehended shortly after Damon’s passing; and

WHEREAS, Weeks after Damon’s death, Favi gave birth to their second child, a daughter, Lucia; and

WHEREAS, Damon is survived and forever remembered by his loving partner Favi, son Carter, daughter Lucia, mother Vicki, aunts Carole and Pat, and Favi’s loving family Pascual, Micaela, Mickey, Junior, Marco, Salvador, and Miguel; and

WHEREAS, Damon is deeply missed by his family, friends, and the entire Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office family; and

WHEREAS, Damon is a hero for the man he was — husband, father, friend, and so much more to so many; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the contributions of Sergeant Damon Christopher Gutzwiller to the people of California and designates the portion of State Route 9 between Lower Glen Arbor Road, at postmile SCR 8.13, to Western Avenue, at postmile SCR 11.131, in the County of Santa Cruz as the Sergeant Damon Christopher Gutzwiller Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs, consistent with the signage requirements for the state highway system, showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly shall transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.