A San Diego police officer killed in the line of duty, but forever remembered for his courage and kindness, was honored with a plaque at the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Saturday.
In a special Veterans Week Ceremony attended by vets, law enforcement and San Diego Police Department Chief William Lansdowne, a memorial plaque was dedicated to slain Officer Jeremy Henwood.
Officer Henwood was shot in the line of duty on August 7, 2011, and died shortly thereafter.
The officer was sitting in his patrol car in City Heights when suspect Dejon Marquee pulled up alongside Henwood’s vehicle and fatally shot the officer in an unprovoked attack. Marquee was later killed in a shootout with police officers outside his City Heights apartment.
San Diegans may remember Officer Henwood from a surveillance video captured just moments before his death at a McDonald’s restaurant on Fairmont Avenue. In the famous footage, the officer is seen buying food for a hungry child that he had never met.
The video has been described as a random act of kindness by a man that members of the San Diego community consider a hero.
"He is what we look for in a police officer," said William Lansdowne, SDPD Police Chief . "He had the intergity, the courage, and the compassion to do this job. He set a legacy for all of us to follow."
In addition to his time as on the police force, Officer Henwood was also a Marine Reservist who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Now, alongside thousands of heroic U.S. veterans, the officer will forever be honored on the memorial wall of plaques at Mt. Soledad in San Diego’s La Jolla area.
Saturday’s dedication ceremony included an address by keynote speaker Brigadier General James Bierman, Jr., USMC, Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego and the Western Recruiting Region.
The Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Brass Quintet, MCRD Color Guard and San Diego T-34 Performance Aircraft Team performed at the event. Officer Henwood’s colleagues – including SDPD Chief Lansdowne – looked on as the plaque was presented.
The officer's father, Dr. Ribbie Henwood, who was present at Saturday's event, spoke to NBC 7 San Diego about his son.
"Jeremy had an expression, his comment was 'It is what it is.' That's a hard one for parents," Henwood said. "Jeremy was bigger than life and still is."
