JACKSON, Mich. -- Hundreds of police officers, family members and friends gathered Friday to remember a fallen Jackson police officer.

Services for 26-year-old James Bonneau were held at St. Michael Lutheran Church in Wayne County's Canton Township, about 20 miles west of Detroit.

Bagpipers and drummers accompanied Bonneau's flag-draped coffin to the front of the church.

James Bonneau was responding to a domestic disturbance call around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when he was shot and killed.

Images: Police Officer Laid To Rest
Watch: Officer Laid To Rest

Police said when Bonneau and Darrin McIntosh, a 22-year-old Blackman Township public safety officer entered 63-year-old Elvin Potts' home, Potts opened fire on the two officers.

Potts revealed a handgun and shot at the officers three times, police said. One officer returned fire, killing Potts.

"He was a quick study. He was eager to learn and he loved being a cop," said Jackson Police Chief Matthew Heins.

Watch: Shootout Leaves 2 Dead, Including Officer

Bonneau is the first officer killed in the department in the line of duty in more than three decades.

"Of course he had two years on (the force) and was still learning the ropes, but he was aggressive in the standpoint in following through with his investigations," said Hines.

McIntosh was wounded and underwent surgery for a non-life-threatening injury. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Bonneau and McIntosh initially went to the home of Potts's estranged wife in Blackman Township after she called 911 to report that Potts had threatened by phone to kill her, Finco said. Potts then went to the woman's house around 11 p.m. Monday but left when she wouldn't let him inside, and the officers went to Potts' home to look for him, the undersheriff said.

Officers who attended the funeral said it's a reminder.

"Unfortunately, it's an expected danger. We take a risk everyday," said Gross Pointe Farms Public Safety Officer Matthew Hurner.

"You always have doubt, you always have concern, but you push it in the back of your mind and you go out and do your job everyday," said Heins.

Marc Bonneau said he got a call in the middle of the night at his home in the Detroit suburb of Canton Township.

"To tell you the truth, I thought it was my daughter calling and saying that they were having the baby," he said.

But the phone call wasn't about the arrival of a grandchild; it was Jackson authorities calling to break the news of his son's death.

"You can't describe it. You just never think this is going to happen to you," Marc Bonneau said. "You always hear about it, and he was in the profession that this happens, but you always just keep thinking on that it won't."

Family members are grief-stricken.

"They're doing okay, holding up pretty well. It's just a chock to them when something like this happens," said family friend Kathleen Ryan.

"I cared about him. He was a great guy. It's not fair," said friend Mandy Gaedtke.

James Bonneau graduated from Canton High School in 2002. By then, the Sept. 11 terror attacks had inspired him to pursue a law enforcement career, his father said. Bonneau studied criminal justice at Schoolcraft College and Eastern Michigan University and joined the Jackson Police Department in 2007.

"He just had the best heart. He was diligent. He knew what he was doing. He loved what he was doing," Marc Bonneau said. "We were fortunate. I mean, I just count my blessing at least I had him this long. I mean, I just, I'm going to miss him so much."

The father said he last saw his son two weeks ago, when the family spent an entire day at Frankenmuth.

Watch: Family Of Slain Officer Recount Time Together

"We got to have dinner with him, we got the whole day with him," Marc Bonneau said. "We just had a good time."

Bonneau had a girlfriend and is survived by his parents, a sister and a brother.

Donations may be mailed to
MI-C.O.P.S., P.O. Box 508, DeWitt, MI 48820 or made by visiting www.mi-cops.org.