City Heights park named for murdered patrolman

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – City officials gathered at a City Heights park Thursday
to officially dedicate it in memory of a military veteran police officer gunned
down while patrolling the busy district three summers ago.

The late-morning ceremony christened a grassy section of Urban Village
Square on Fairmount Avenue in the name of Jeremy Henwood, a four-year San Diego
Police Department member and Marine reservist who served repeat deployments in
Middle East war zones.

On Aug. 6, 2011, Henwood, 36, was on duty in a marked San Diego Police
Department cruiser when a suicidal young man pulled up alongside him on
University Avenue at 45th Street and opened fire with a .12-gauge shotgun. The
officer died in a hospital early the next day.

About a half-hour later, police shot and killed the assailant when he
allegedly reached for the weapon after they confronted him near his apartment,
a few blocks from the site of the murder.

Councilwoman Marti Emerald, whose district includes the area, hailed
Henwood as someone “universally respected by his colleagues and the people of
City Heights.”

“Naming our community square after Officer Henwood will be a fitting
honor to this fine young man and all that he represented — men and women
everywhere who are willing to lay down their lives to protect others,” she
said.

The late officer's mother, Beverly Henwood, said the true extent of her
son's admirable traits had become clear following his death.

“This whole 2 1/2 years has made us realize that we never really knew
how committed and kind and generous and loyal and (what) a wonderful human
being that he really was,” she told the gathering in a halting voice.

Attending the dedication along with Henwood's family and close friends
were Police Chief William Lansdowne and other high-ranking SDPD officials.