SMTX Council Renames El Camino Real Park In Honor Of Fallen Officer

March 19, 2020

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San Marcos Police Officer Kenneth Copeland, 58.

Tuesday night, the San Marcos City Council voted unanimously to rename El Camino Real Park in honor of a local police officer killed in the line of duty.

In February, the council were in consensus with moving forward with a recommendation to rename the park Kenneth M. Copeland Memorial Park after Officer Kenneth Copeland.

Copeland was killed serving a warrant on Dec. 4, 2017, when the suspect began firing on officers.

In the days, weeks and months following Copeland’s death, Criminal Investigations Commander Kelly Bomersbach said, the park became the epicenter of an outpouring of support by members of the community to the police department and of public safety as a whole.

Mayor Jane Hughson asked that a plaque or something be added to the park along with the new signage, so future generations would know who Officer Copeland was and why the park was named in his honor.

According to Council Member Melissa Derrick, the El Camino Homeowners Association expressed their full support in letters to the council of the name change.

Council Member Jocabed Marquez was absent from the meeting and did not participate in the vote.