At the beginning of the night shift, Sgt. Deanne Clement updates her Lompoc police colleagues about the death-penalty trial of a gang member charged with killing Officer Rich May in East Palo Alto in January 2006.

Most of the officers did not know May, who was Clement's close friend. He left the Lompoc Police Department in 2004 after 15 years.

But they know of him. They know that May, the father of three daughters, was dedicated to youngsters, that he coached youth sports, helped found the Police Activities League (PAL) and served as a DARE officer in an anti-drug program for fifth-graders.

And they know he won the prestigious H. Thomas Guerry Award in 1994 for helping save the life of a victim suffering cardiac arrest. The Guerry Award is named after a Santa Barbara city police officer who, like May, was killed in the line of duty.

The young Lompoc police officers know how Rich May served, and they know how he died.

Richard Allen May Jr. was gunned down on Jan. 7, 2006, after responding to a disturbance call at a taqueria in East Palo Alto. According to trial testimony, a chase ensued and the suspect, parolee Alberto Alvarez, now 26, fired a volley of shots from a semi-automatic weapon, hitting May four times.

The fatal shot struck the 38-year-old cop in the face.

True to his work with youngsters, May had a 14-year-old Police Explorer riding with him that Saturday afternoon. As he exited his patrol car in pursuit, May told the teen to stay in the car. The boy became a key witness in the murder trial, which resumes Monday.

In Lompoc, police were shocked by the news of May's death.

"No one could believe that it happened," said Officer George Berrios, now of the San Luis Obispo Police Department, who was May's best friend when they served together in Lompoc.

"Everyone dealt with it in their own way. Everyone knows it can happen. When it does happen to someone you know, someone you're close to, it hurts even more," Berrios said.

May, 38, had worked only 18 months at the East Palo Alto department. He wanted to be a police chief one day, and believed that working in the tough neighborhoods of East Palo Alto would help prepare him, said his father, Richard May Sr., who spoke during a memorial service in San Jose.

Clement met May when she joined the department in 1991.

"We became friends on patrol," she said. "He was a very nice guy. We just clicked and hit it off."

Their families became close. They camped and hiked together at Lake Nacimiento near Paso Robles and Lake San Antonio to the north.

"He liked being outdoors. He liked being away from the city," Clement said.

"He loved sports. He loved NASCAR," she said. "He and my husband were in NASCAR leagues together. They went to NASCAR races together."

Clement remains good friends with May's widow, Diana. It is Diana who e-mails her regularly about developments in the murder trial, so that Clement can brief the Lompoc police officers.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, former police chief in Lompoc, said what he remembers most about May is his desire to help young people, to steer them away from drugs and crime.

"He did a great job with young folks and is sorely missed as a result of his tragic death," Brown said.

Berrios said his friend's dedication to youth is his legacy.

"He was really dedicated to getting better youth services for the city of Lompoc," Berrios said. May worked tirelessly to try to get a PAL center for the kids, he said.

"It never came to pass. The money was never there, but that was his biggest goal. He had the urge to keep on working, never quit," Berrios said.

May, a 1985 graduate of San Luis Obispo High School, also made an impact in the department because of his unique sense of humor, Brown said.

"He was an extremely likable fellow. He had a great personality. He loved to laugh."

At his funeral in Orcutt, May was remembered as a lovable jokester.

In one memorable moment on the department's live cable access program, "Police Beat," May told a balding fellow officer that he had "more ex-wives than hair follicles."

Clement said May's playful and caring nature came into play once when he answered a call for help from an elderly, delusional woman who reported that neighborhood youngsters were bothering her.

"She had a bunch of stuffed animals lined up on her couch. She said, 'These kids are bothering me. Can you talk to them?''' Clement recalled.

"He talked to the stuffed animals, told them to stop talking to her," she said. "The woman was delusional. He knew it. That's all she needed. He talked to the stuffed animals for her. He was willing to go into her world to help her out."

Respect for May's dedication and caring was evident when more than 100 police officers on roaring motorcycles escorted the hearse carrying the former Marine's body to the memorial service in San Jose, according to news reports. Five limousines, carrying family members, more family cars and the East Palo Alto Police Department vehicles followed.

The motorcade stretched for four miles.

Near the police department, hundreds of elementary school children and community members lined the street, cheering, and crying, as the motorcade passed.

A little girl held up a hand-made sign that read, "Rest in peace, Officer May."

As dedicated as he was to the job, May was even more dedicated to his family, Berrios said.

After he transferred to East Palo Alto, May continued to live in Orcutt with his wife and daughters when off duty.

"His daughters were first and foremost - everything to him. It was all about the family, then the job," Berrios said.

"He's a great father to his daughters, a great husband to his wife, a best friend to miss."