Thousands Expected for Oxnard Officer’s Funeral

As many as 3,000 people are expected to pay their respects at a funeral today for Oxnard Police Officer James Rex Jensen Jr.

Jensen was killed Wednesday in an accidental shooting during a drug raid.

At 10 a.m., about 75 vehicles and 40 motorcycles will travel from the Oxnard Police Department at 2nd and C streets to the Ventura Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 3501 Loma Vista Road in Ventura.

Jensen’s funeral will begin at 11 a.m. at the church.

Bus service for the public will be provided by South Coast Area Transit starting at 9 a.m. from the Buenaventura Mall to the church area at Loma Vista and Mills roads.

SCAT buses marked “special” will pick up passengers at the mall’s normal bus stops. The last bus will leave at 9:45 a.m.

There are no specific parking arrangements for private vehicles.

Street parking is available in residential areas near the church, but police warn that it is very limited.

Two streets will be closed about 9 a.m. until the service is over. Northbound Mills will be closed at Telegraph Road, and eastbound Loma Vista Road will be closed at Mills Road.

Westbound Loma Vista will be open only to funeral traffic from Ashwood on to the church.

There will be no loudspeakers for those outside the church, which seats about 1,000, so mourners who do not get a seat inside the church will be unable to hear the service.

A procession to Ivy Lawn Cemetery will follow.

The route is as follows:

* South on Mills Road to Main Street.

* East on Main Street to the southbound Ventura Freeway onramp at Telephone Road.

* South on the Ventura Freeway to the Victoria Avenue offramp.

* South on Victoria Avenue to Valentine Road.

* West on Valentine Road to Ivy Lawn Cemetery.

There will be road closures in those areas during the procession, which is expected to include as many as 1,000 vehicles and last as long as 30 minutes.