Dozens of San Diego Police Department (SDPD) officers and city leaders gathered Friday to honor a fallen officer killed on the job exactly four years ago.
The legacy left behind by SDPD Officer Jeremy Henwood was the focus of Friday’s ceremony held at a park in City Heights named after the fallen hero.
Henwood’s colleagues said the officer will always be remembered for giving back to his community.
“We want to look at the positives that Jeremy brought. The positive influence and the emotion he shared with us. We want to make sure that that lives on in the future,” said SDPD Officer Scott Wahl.
SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman welcomed the crowd and spoke directly to Officer Henwood's family. Chief Zimmerman thanked the family for their son's service and also vowed to never forget his legacy. During the ceremony, Officer Henwood's mother shared a poem with the group that she says she found after her son died.
Just a block away, the McDonalds at 3879 Fairmount Avenue blocked off a portion of its parking lot to let officers talk with the community and show off their police equipment.
This McDonald’s is significant because it is the last place Officer Henwood visited before he was killed by a man who opened fire on him while he was on patrol on Aug. 7, 2011.
It was at this McDonald’s where Henwood had his final act of service – an act of kindness never forgotten by the community or his colleagues.
Officer Henwood noticed a young boy in line who was short on change. The officer then bought him some cookies and gave him some words of advice, just moments before his death. The tender act was caught on surveillance tape.
Moments later, Henwood was shot while sitting in his patrol car by suspect Dejon Marquee, who pulled up alongside the officer’s vehicle and opened fire. Marquee was later killed in a shootout with police officers outside his City Heights apartment.
Henwood died from injuries sustained in the attack.
In addition to Friday’s remembrance ceremony at the Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, the McDonald’s on Fairmount Avenue planned to donate a portion of proceeds from sales to the San Diego Police Officers Association (SDPOA) Widows & Orphans Fund in honor of Officer Henwood. The fundraiser there was set to run through 7 p.m.
