Solemn tributes planned for Padron

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Every salute must be flawless.

Every step timed to the millisecond.

Every note from the bagpipes pitch-perfect.

That's the standard set for the police honor guard that will be on duty at Austin's Shoreline Church on Wednesday when officers from agencies across Texas assemble to pay a final tribute to Jaime Padron.

Wednesday morning flags were flying at half staff outside the church.

It will be a solemn tribute for the 17-year police veteran who was gunned down at a North Austin Walmart last week. But is also a fitting one, said Joshua Blake, who is part of the Austin Police Honor Guard that will be at the church.

"This is what we practice for," Blake said during Tuesday's preparations. "And it's unfortunate that we have to do that. But it's a reality that we have to practice and be prepared for an officer being killed in the line of duty because that's the nature of this job."

It's the honor guide's job to meet the needs of the 40-year-old officer's family, including his 6- and 10-year-old daughters.

"There won't be a dry eye out here and that includes the officers," Blake said. "The officers that do this time after time. No matter how many times we fold the flag, we fire the rifles, it doesn't matter."

The service in Austin for Padron begins at 11 a.m. Wednesday and additional services are planned for his hometown of San Angelo, where much of his family lives and where he will be buried.

The visitation begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Cook-Walden Funeral Home, located at 6100 N. Lamar Blvd . Inside, an Austin police officer was standing guard over the casket Tuesday afternoon, and someone will be there all night.

Following Wednesday's church service, a three-hour procession will lap the city.

See map of route below

Then, the Police Department's highway enforcement command will escort Padron's body all the way to San Angelo, where he will be laid to rest. His two daughters, ages 6 and 10, and ex-wife live in San Angelo.

The man accused of killing Padron, 40, at a Walmart store in North Austin remains in Travis County Jail.

Judge Jim Coronado on Tuesday appointed attorney Bill White to represent Brandon Montgomery Daniel, 24, who is charged with capital murder in Padron's death.

If he is convicted of capital murder, Daniel could face the death penalty.

The officer was killed at the Walmart store near Interstate 35 and Parmer Lane in North Austin shortly after 2 a.m. on Friday.

Padron succumbed to a gunshot wound to his neck. Two Walmart employees tackled Daniel, wrestling the gun from his hand, until other officers arrived on the scene.

Padron worked for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport police as part of the emergency management department that consolidated with APD in 2009. Before that, he was on the San Angelo Police Department.

The honor guard and Padron's fellow officers from the countless departments who will bid him farewell will make certain that his police is given the recognition it deserves, Blake said.

"It affects us personally, and we have to take that home," he said. "But this is one of the ways we get through this because we know what we're doing helps the family and it helps begin the healing."