A Chula Vista post office branch is being dedicated today in the name of a fallen San Diego Police officer. The facility, on the corner of Kuhn and Miller Drive, will now be known as the Jonathan "J.D." De Guzman Post Office Building.
43-year-old De Guzman was shot multiple times and killed during a routine stop of a gang member on July 28, 2016. Prosecutors said the attack happened so quickly that he never had the opportunity to pull his service weapon. He is survived by his parents, a wife and two children.
Speakers at the dedication including Representative Davis, De Guzman's son, Jed, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman, and a district manager from the U.S. Postal Service. Officer Wade Irwin, De Guzman's partner, will also attend the ceremony. Irwin was also shot during the confrontation with a suspected gang member, and recovered after a lengthy hospital stay.
The legislation was carried by Representative Susan Davis, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama before he left office. The memory of Officer Jonathan De Guzman will live on,'' Davis said in a statement when the legislation was introduced. "Generations will know the sacrifice he made and that he dedicated his life to protecting and serving the San Diego community he loved. This is a tribute to him and our law enforcement officers who make the safety of San Diegans their top priority.''
The entire San Diego congressional delegation joined as original cosponsors of Davis's legislation and all of California's House members supported the bill. De Guzman was a decorated, 16-year veteran of the SDPD who "always raised the bar and cared deeply for his community," Zimmerman said.
Photo Courtesy of San Diego Police Department