Dozens of mother, fathers, sons and daughters from the City Heights area marched in solidarity with San Diego Police officers during Tuesday’s National Night Out Against Crime.
“We’re here to make sure that everybody knows that the cops are here to help us. They don’t want violence either," Isaiah Sanchez, 17, said.
The neighborhood event put on by the police department took on a different meaning this year, after San Diego Police Officer Jonathan “J.D.” DeGuzman was shot and killed and his partner, Officer Wade Irwin, was shot and injured last week in Southcrest.
Police Chief Shelly Zimmerman was touched by the community support.
“And what’s been fantastic, and pretty cathartic, is that the community members have, especially the young children, have gone up to our officers and come up to me to offer their condolences,” Zimmerman said at the event.
National Night Out took place at Officer Jeremy Henwood Park, across the street from the Mid-City Division police station.
Officer Henwood was murdered in 2011 while sitting in his police car at a stoplight on University Ave., just moments after he bought a boy some cookies inside a nearby McDonald's.
“The outpouring of love and support for our officers has been fantastic and I ask people to keep it up,” Zimmerman said.
