Four years ago, Jarrod and Trisha Martinez exchanged wedding vows in the Sunken Garden behind the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

With that special memory in mind, Trisha Martinez selected the Sunken Garden as the site of a memorial service Wednesday for her husband, a Santa Barbara-based California Highway Patrol officer who was killed Oct. 29 in an on-duty motorcycle crash in Los Olivos.

The garden was a sea of uniforms Wednesday afternoon, as CHP officers and other law enforcement personnel were a prominent presence among the hundreds who turned out for the funeral.

Two Santa Barbara County fire engines parked facing each other on Anapamu Street next to the Sunken Garden, an area which was blocked off to traffic, and an American flag was draped between the raised ladders of the two engines.

A large photo of Martinez, his wife and their 4-year-old daughter, Julia, all looking happy, sat near the podium.

A caravan of law-enforcement vehicles and family members of Martinez traveled to the service from the Earl Warren Showgrounds, and back to the showgrounds for a reception following the funeral.

CHP officers were the speakers at the service, giving at times tearful remembrances of Martinez as a man who loved being a CHP officer and was good at it.

The officers offered condolences and support to Martinez's family.

"Jarrod was a proud member of the highway patrol, and the highway patrol was equally proud (of) Jarrod," said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.

Martinez, 30, who lived in Buellton, was driving home on his 1998 Honda after testifying in a traffic-court appearance in Santa Barbara, when he was thrown from his motorcycle after braking hard to avoid a collision with a 2009 Porsche driven by Curtis Seymour Smith, 68, of Solvang, according to the CHP.

Martinez landed in the roadway, and was struck and dragged underneath the car on Steele Street at Foxen Canyon Road, the CHP said. Martinez was riding his personal motorcycle, but was on duty when he died, according to the CHP.

He joined the Santa Barbara office of the CHP in 2008 as a new academy graduate.

No criminal charges have been filed in the crash, which remains under investigation by the CHP's Coastal Division Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT).

Farrow offered condolences to Martinez's family during his eulogy.

"I can tell by the bond of the family you have here, you will get through this together," he said.

Farrow said that Tricia Martinez had told him she was happy her husband did a job he desired to do.

"This is what he wanted. This is his dream," he said.

"There was so much more that awaited him," Farrow added.

Capt. Jeff Sgobba, commander of the Santa Barbara CHP office were Martinez worked, sang "Amazing Grace" while playing guitar earlier in the ceremony, and later spoke about the young officer.

Sgobba said he remembered Martinez having a big smile as a new officer at the Santa Barbara CHP office last year.

"He reminded me of a puppy who wags his tail so hard his whole hind end moves," he said.

Martinez had limitless potential as a CHP officer, Sgobba said, but was also blessed in his personal life.

"Jarrod's untimely death has left an indelible mark on the Santa Barbara area command," Sgobba said.

CHP Officer James Studebaker, who was paired with Martinez on night shifts, said his friend was a "loyal, honest, brave and kind man" who met challenges head-on.

"With his personality that was larger than life, it was impossible to be upset with him," Studebaker said.

His voice breaking with emotion, Studebaker said, "I am honored and blessed to have worked alongside him."

At the conclusion of the service, taps sounded and three World War II-vintage military planes zoomed overhead in salute.

Law-enforcement officers stood saluting as Martinez's family members walked by and into a limousine to go to the reception.