Services Announced for Police Officer From Beaumont

Cathedral City police Officer Jermaine Gibson, an Iraq War veteran and Beaumont resident who died March 18 in a pursuit crash in Palm Springs, will be laid to rest Friday at Riverside National Cemetery, it was announced Tuesday.

Funeral services for Gibson are scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday at Southwest Community Church, 77701 Fred Waring Drive in Indian Wells, Cathedral City police Lt. Charles Robinson said in a statement.

Interment will be at 2:15 p.m. at Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd., next to March Air Reserve Base.

Gibson, 29, was a resident of Beaumont at the time of his death.

He was chasing two men in a stolen vehicle when his patrol car crashed into a palm tree and burst into flames on South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs shortly after 11:30 p.m. last Friday.

Gibson sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, Robinson said. The suspect vehicle also crashed further down the road and caught fire, and two men were hospitalized.

They remained hospitalized and their names had not been released as of Tuesday afternoon, Palm Springs police Lt. Mitch Spike said.

Gibson was married during the past year, and he was the proud father of a four-week-old baby boy, Robinson said.

Gibson started his law enforcement career as a teenage volunteer Police Explorer in Richmond, Calif. He served two tours in the Iraq War with the Marine Corps, earned a Purple Heart, and was honorably discharged as an infantry squad leader.

Gibson had been with Cathedral City police the past 18 months, and he'd been a fully-sworn law enforcement officer about three years. He was recognized last week in Riverside by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his efforts to identify and arrest DUI motorists.

Gibson was "a young man with a distinguished record of service to his country and community," California Gov. Jerry Brown said Saturday.

"Every day, officers put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe and Officer Gibson's service and sacrifice will not be forgotten," Brown said Saturday in a statement.

The fatal crash was being investigated by the California Highway Patrol's Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team.

Gibson is survived by his wife, Jessica, and month-old son, Jermaine Anthony Gibson, both of Beaumont, his mother, Cheryl Gibson of Vallejo, and his brother, Taurean R. Gibson of Vallejo.

A memorial fund has been established to assist Gibson's family, by the Cathedral City Police Officers Association, Robinson said. Inquiries and donations may be directed to CCPOA President Albert Holloway at (951) 906-4552 or cathedralcitypoa@gmail.com.