Austin Police To Install Memorial Marker For Fallen Officer Jaime Padrón

AUSTIN, TX -- A marker honoring fallen police officer Jaime Padrón is scheduled to be installed Friday.

Padrón was killed in April 2012 after responding to a report of an intoxicated man who was shoplifting at about 2:30 a.m. The officer tackled the suspect as he tried to flee, only to be shot when the man produced a small handgun from his pocket to shoot Padron in the neck.

Officer Padrón died at the scene. He left two young daughters and his parents behind.

A 14-year law enforcement veteran, Padrón had been on the local force for three years. He previously served in the Austin Airport Police Department and San Angelo Police Department. The officer also formerly served in the U.S. Marines.

The installation of the marker is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. on Friday at the northeast corner of the Walmart parking lot at 12900 N. Interstate 35. It will be the 20th marker to be installed as part of the Austin Police Officer Memorial Project.

According to the APD, the Austin Police Officer Memorial Project was created by Officer Jason Huskins in April of 2008. The project consists of placing granite memorials at every location in Austin where a police officer was killed in the line of duty.

Each memorial is 5' 4" tall, 20 inches wide and 6 inches thick, and constructed from gray granite. The memorials were donated by Rockdale Memorial Co.

"This project was conceived as an effort to remind the citizens of Austin of the ultimate sacrifice made by Austin Police Officers in the name of public safety, security and well-being," police said in a prepared statement. "The Memorials will contribute historical value and serve as a place for family and friends to remember their fallen officers."

At Padrón's funeral, police Chief Art Acevedo said the fallen officer stood out even on a force of some 2,000 given his magnetic personality and an ever-present smile on his face.

"Jaime Padrón. Who was he?" Acevedo asked rhetorically during the funeral service. "He was a father, son, brother, an uncle, a police officer, a friend. A Marine. Above all else he was a hero," Acevedo said.

An elementary school in North Austin was named in honor of Padrón in 2014. The Jaime D. Padrón Elementary School at 2011 W. Rundberg Lane has 57 classrooms and features an environmentally sustainable design incorporating solar energy and other environmentally friendly technology.