NBC San Diego: SDPD Honors Slain Police Officer Jonathan De Guzman

Thousands of law enforcement officers escorted the casket of slain San Diego Police Officer Jonathan De Guzman as it traveled across San Diego County to a public memorial service Friday.

The fallen officer and his colleagues were saluted by not only firefighters on overpasses and bridges but by hundreds of citizens holding flags and signs.

It was a touching outpouring of support for a police department one week after a shooting that killed one veteran uniformed officer in the line of duty and seriously injured another.

De Guzman, 43, who survived a stabbing 13 years ago and shot at a gun-wielding man three years ago, died July 28. The violent attack happened seconds after De Guzman’s partner Officer Wade Irwin stopped a man walking in Southcrest, according to San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman.

The man turned and opened fire on both officers, investigators said.

De Guzman was shot multiple times, at point-blank range, while he was seated in his patrol vehicle. Prosecutors say the officer never had a chance to raise his service weapon.

Following recent police killings in Dallas, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the shooting in San Diego prompted many citizens to show their support for the SDPD.

One man waving a giant American flag greeted the procession as it exited Interstate 8 just before 11 a.m., heading for Shadow Mountain Community Church.

Read more at SDPD Honors Slain Police Officer Jonathan De Guzman. 

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