Hundreds Mourn Compton Officer : Tribute: Friends remember James Wayne MacDonald as a compassionate person who had long wanted to be a policeman.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. —  About 200 police officers joined Gov. Pete Wilson and hundreds of mourners Saturday to honor Compton Police Officer James Wayne MacDonald, who was gunned down in the line of duty with his partner.

“Jimmy Wayne MacDonald and I walked together. He still today walks by my side. I refuse to miss Jimmy because he never left me,” Kenny Ippolitti, a friend since high school, said at the memorial service.

MacDonald, 23, and his partner, Officer Kevin Michael Burrell, 29, were shot Monday night after stopping two suspects in a car. Both officers died of gunshot wounds to the head.

The pair were the first Compton officers killed in the line of duty in the department’s 65-year history.

The Santa Rosa native, known to friends as “Jimmy Mac,” was a volunteer reserve officer in Compton and was scheduled to join the San Jose Police Department on March 8 for a permanent assignment.

Compton police said that there are at least two suspects in the killings but that no arrests have been made.

“We will not rest until these individuals are brought to justice. And that--I vow--we will do,” Compton Police Chief Hourie Taylor said at the service.

St. Rose Catholic Church in Santa Rosa was filled to capacity, and several groups of friends huddled outside with officers from across the state.

Friends described MacDonald as a dedicated and compassionate person who did not want to become hardened by the streets.

Paul Smith, a longtime family friend, said MacDonald had wanted to be a police officer since high school.

“The one thing Jimmy never doubted (was that) his career would involve giving to people, involve doing for the people,” Smith said.

Despite securing the position with the San Jose Police Department, MacDonald was still hoping for a permanent position in Compton, Smith said. The department posthumously named him an officer Tuesday.