Marysville honors fallen police officer Osmar Rodarte with downtown procession

The wail of sirens echoed through Marysville on Thursday morning as hundreds lined D Street to honor a fallen officer — the first Marysville police officer killed in the line of duty in more than a century — whose body was ushered to a Placer County funeral home.

Less than 30 hours earlier, Officer Osmar Rodarte was slain while executing a search warrant in Olivehurst during a sweeping, multi-county law enforcement operation targeting transnational drug traffickers. On Thursday, the city he served paused to mourn him.

Rodarte’s flag-draped casket was carried through the heart of town in a solemn 10-minute procession led by motorcycle officers and flanked by police and emergency vehicles from across the region. On sidewalks downtown, community members stood in silence—some with hats over their hearts—as the convoy passed by.

“I didn’t know his name, but when I saw his picture, it’s hard not to know,” said Pauline Warren, a downtown business owner who cried alongside a stranger she met just minutes before the procession. “You couldn’t see it without a tear.”

Rodarte, 30, had been with the department for just two years. His killing stunned the small Northern California community and prompted an outpouring of grief and support across the greater capital region.

The officer was struck by gunfire around 7:50 a.m. Wednesday while serving one of more than 20 search warrants issued across Yuba, Sutter, Butte and Tehama counties in a coordinated takedown of suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl traffickers, officials said. Rodarte was rushed to Adventist Health and Rideout hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The gunman in the Olivehurst home died at the scene; a second person was taken into custody. Neither has been identified.

But the details of what transpired the morning prior was not top of mind this morning.

Rodarte was a father, Army veteran and, at two years on the job, a relative newcomer to the Marysville force.

Regardless of whether they knew Rodarte, community members, business owners, friends, parents and children found common cause to deviate from their regular days to recognize a loss that rattled parts of the community.

Warren sat outside her downtown business under an overcast Thursday alongside Suzanne McNaughton, whom she had just met. They watched the procession — and cried — together.

“The police do help us a lot whenever we need them,” Warren said. “... If you need them, Marysville police, they’re just very good.”

Kayla Scroggins, an emergency room nurse at Rideout hospital where Rodarte died, held her 3-year-old son, Logan, and watched the motorcycles, armored trucks and squad cars pass one after another, marked with agency names from Yuba City to Truckee to Sacramento.

She knew Rodarte from the times their paths crossed in the emergency room, though she wasn’t on duty Wednesday morning. Still, she said the loss has weighed heavily on her and her colleagues, bringing with it a deep sense of helplessness — for not being able to do more.

“We tried to save him as best as we can,” she said. “It was tough to not be able to help somebody who helps us all the time. That was a tough spot for us, because that’s what we do, we help. And that’s what police officers do, too.”

In one procession vehicle, Marysville Mayor Chris Branscum stared straight ahead, stone-faced amid the sirens’ cry. A woman in another held a tissue to her nose. Somber young faces — some in civilian clothes, too young to be officers — filled other cabs.

“It’s just a tragedy. A gut punch, you know,” said Yuba City Councilmember Wade Kirchner. “These folks put their lives on the line every day. It’s nice to see the community come out and support this, though.”

The traveling chain of support cleared downtown on its way to Placer County as its whirs faded and the quiet sounds of Marysville returned.

Rodarte’s killing resounded far from Yuba-Sutter, drawing recognition from state officials and prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to order flags across the state to be flown at half-staff.

“Our thoughts are with the Marysville community and Officer Rodarte’s family as we mourn his sudden and tragic loss,” Newsom said in a statement. “His service and dedication to the safety of the community will never be forgotten.”

Memorial service details are expected to be announced in the coming days.

This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 1:20 PM.