A funeral service for fallen Detective Randy Hoppert will be held on Tuesday, April 28, at Visalia First Assembly Church, 3737 S. Akers St., according to Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Hoppert was killed in the line of duty on April 9, while assisting deputies who came under gunfire serving an eviction notice in Porterville.
Church doors will open at 8 a.m. The procession from Salser & Dillard Funeral Chapel to the church will begin at 9:30 a.m., with a flyover of the church scheduled at 9:47 a.m. The service will begin at 10 a.m., with the procession back to Salser & Dillard to follow. There will be no graveside service.
Visalia First will live-stream the funeral service on YouTube, sheriff’s officials said.
In a separate release, Tulare County Sheriff Michael Boudreaux announced that the 35 deputies who were placed on paid administrative leave after the deadly shooting are now back at work.
According to the department’s protocol, following an officer-involved shooting, each deputy involved is placed on administrative leave to be evaluated by a certified psychiatric professional to make sure they are fit before returning to work. The department will continue to have resources available to any of its personnel who need them.
Neither the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office nor the Visalia Police Department, which took over the investigation from the sheriff’s office, has released updated information about the investigation.
Honoring Deputy Hoppert
The Tulare County community continues to come together to help the Hoppert family.
The Visalia Rawhide, partnered with the Tulare County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and Rankin Field Weapons Range to dedicate the team’s April 16 game to the memory of Detective Hoppert.
“The game was an emotional and special night,” said Rawhide Community Relations Manager Griffin Epstein. “Seeing the Tulare County community come together to support the Hoppert family in this difficult time was incredibly moving. We were honored to play a small part in supporting the Hoppert family and our local law enforcement while celebrating the life of a hero in our community.”
The game was a sellout with 2,468 fans in attendance.
The Rawhide announced that 100% of ticket proceeds for the game would go to benefit the Hoppert family. That amount was matched by both the team owners and Groppetti Automotive, tripling the revenue from ticket sales. A 50/50 raffle was held during the game with the proceeds also going to the Hoppert family
The Hoppert family and the Rawhide have chosen to keep the total amount raised from the game private.
There have been other fundraising efforts in the community.
Strings Italian Cafe in Visalia announced a Hoppert family fundraiser on its Facebook page.
“To help support them in a time of grief we are donating 50% of our sales on Monday and Tuesday nights for the rest of April,” the post stated. “Any dine-in or take-out orders will contribute.”
Proceeds from the fifth annual Battle of the Beef, a tri-tip grilling competition among teams of first responders held on April 18, were also given to the Hoppert family. Organizer Rick Johnson made the decision to donate $11,000 in receipts from the event, but participants also contributed, resulting in a total of $45,000 being raised.
Those who would like to donate to Deputy Hoppert’s family can visit the Deputy Sheriff’s Association’s donation page.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Funeral service details announced for Tulare County Deputy Randy Hoppert
Reporting by Steve Pastis, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
