The US Marine and Police Officer

Police Officer Jeremy Henwood- always remembered

A decorated United States Marine veteran, a San Diego police officer…  one man known for a final act of goodness that still touches the hearts of strangers, 2 years after it occurred.  Jeremy Henwood was murdered in August of 2011 as he sat alone in his police vehicle. But it’s what he did just before then that captured the public’s attention, and is cause for us to remember.
The US Marine and Police Officer
Officer Henwood was a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He returned to the US from a tour in Afghanistan, and two tours in Iraq. He was a Marine Reservist, and an officer of the San Diego police department for 4 years. He had a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, and was commissioned as a officer in the USMC in 2000. Upon returning from the Middle East, he joined the San Diego Police Department.
He survived the deadly life in Iraq and Afghanistan, only to be brutally shot while sitting alone in his police car at the age of 36.

“Jeremy’s death struck every officer throughout the country. Every one of us felt that vulnerability because that could have been and still could be anyone of us. He was shot not because he was Jeremy Henwood. He was shot because he was a police officer in a marked police car.”

A final act of kindness
Just three short minutes prior to his death, the officer was captured on video surveillance tape doing in a remarkable act of kindness. DaveonTinsley, a young boy whom he did not know, asked him for 10 cents. The boy did not have quite enough money to buy a cookie, so Henwood opened his wallet, and his heart, to share three cookies.
During the conversation, Henwood asked Daveon what he wanted to be when he grew up. He responded, “An NBA Star.”
Officer Henwood told him he’d have to work hard to do that, and walked out the door. Three minutes later, he lay dying of gunshot wounds.
Daveon said that the officer was “real tall” (at 6 ft 3 in). He sadly remarked that having a “good guy” suddenly murdered shortly after his encounter was “crazy.” But it was one act of kindness that affected Daveon’s life forever.

US Marine Jeremy Henwood – a legacy of kindness

That week, a thousand residents of the San Diego neighborhood where Officer Henwood was killed turned out to honor his life in a candlelight vigil. His funeral was attended by both US Marines and Police officers from all over the nation. In August of 2013, a movie that honored Jeremy’s life and those of other fallen officers, called “Heroes Behind the Badge,” debuted in San Diego, California.
Jeremy Henwood was more than physically  “real tall.” In this holiday season, we should remember his name and his actions, never forgetting the way he lived his life. He was tall in spirit and in heart. 2011 was the “end of his watch,” but not the end of his legacy.