I’M HEADING INTO town today to support my cop buddies and say goodbye to Jaime Padron, an Austin police officer, a husband and
Rest in Peace, Officer Padron
a father of two young daughters.
As the daughter of a cop, I hated hearing a knock on the door when Daddy wasn’t home, because it could mean he wasn’t coming home. And it was that constant fear that prodded me to become a journalist and later, a mystery writer–to come to terms with the fact that sometimes the bad guys win.
Jaime responded to a routine call about a drunk at Walmart. Not the first drunk making a racket at the discount store, but certainly one of the deadliest.
No one knows why Brandon Daniel knocked back a handful of tranquilizers with a bottle of booze and at 2:30 a.m., headed to the super store, a semi-automatic weapon hidden under his shirt.
No one knows why Daniel drew down on the officer when Jaime entered the store and shot him at point blank range,
From the funeral procession today . . .
and I’m certain Daniel did not expect two Walmart employees to jump his sorry ass and hold him down until help arrived.
Jaime was pronounced dead at 2:44 a.m.
And so I will join the procession at one o’clock this afternoon in support of his family, and my friends at the Austin Police Department.
My prayers are with his family and his fellow officers, and to the two Walmart employees who stepped forward—stepped up.
Thank you for attending and honoring Officer Patron. Senseless death. I appreciate the sacrifice of our law enforcers so much.
me too, Jane. me too.
Prayers for the tragic death of Officer Patron and his family, and bless the Wal-Mart employees who sprang into action to protect others.
And thank you, Kit, for a stirring recounting of a story I had not heard.
Leslie
Thank you, Leslie . . . I think about my dad every time I see . . . or (sadly) am involved in a traffic stop–routine, right? This just goes to show that nothing is ever “routine” when an officer is called out–my dad told me that often. And now that I’m older, I understand better . . .