OAKLAND — A memorial service Friday for the four police officers shot and killed over the weekend is expected to draw thousands of people and police from across the country, officials said.

Capt. Paul Figueroa of the Oakland Police Department is in charge of the service and other events honoring Sgts. Mark Dunakin, Dan Sakai and Erv Romans, and Officer John Hege. Figueroa said Tuesday he'd been spending a lot of time with the men's families to get an understanding of what they want to see at the services.

"Our mission will be to honor the fallen officers and their families," Figueroa said at a news conference. He paused for a long moment and said, his voice cracking slightly, "They're the most honorable people I've met."

Figueroa then laid out a loosely planned schedule for the event at Oracle Arena:

# Early in the morning, the families of the officers will begin processions from the mortuaries where the officers' bodies are being cared for, in Tracy, Danville, Hayward and Oakland.

# The doors to the Oracle Arena will open at 9 a.m., well before the service is expected to begin, and attendees are encouraged to come early as the event will be highly secure.

# The families will arrive about 10:30 a.m. and have a private service.

# The private service will be followed by a public one led by police chaplain Jayson Landeza, with selected dignitaries and other speakers addressing the families and the crowd. This will last about 2 1/2 hours.

# At 1:30 p.m., the service will end, and a procession to the parking lot will begin. The families will take a 30-minute break.

# Formal honors will take place, including bagpipes, military canon salutes, and helicopter flyovers.

# Families will then begin a private procession, as the crowd is ushered into the Oakland Coliseum, where organizers will have food and beverages prepared for the crowd.

The arena holds about 17,000 people, and police are expecting the event to be broadcast live across the country to accommodate those who are unable to attend.

Law enforcement officials from departments ranging from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to the Boston Police Department are expected to attend.

Figueroa asked that all attendees remember they are the guests of the victims' families.

Acting police Chief Howard Jordan also used the occasion to praise a man named Clarence Ellis for giving first aid to Hege and Dunakin after the first shooting.

"This man took action above and beyond the call of duty," Jordan said. "He ran up, took off his jacket and applied pressure to Dunakin's wounds, and tracked down a cell phone and called 911. We're working hard to reward Mr. Ellis, but no awards or accolades will be enough."