Marysville to rename street in honor of fallen police Officer Osmar Rodarte

A one-way alley behind the Marysville Police Department will soon bear a familiar name.

Marysville officials made proclamations Tuesday honoring Officer Osmar Rodarte, who was killed in the line of duty in March, including one that will rename Oak Street in downtown Marysville to one in honor of the fallen officer.

Rodarte was killed March 26 after an exchange of gunfire at a home in Olivehurst where he was executing a search warrant, one of about 20 searches that took place throughout several Northern California counties as part of an investigation into suspected transnational drug traffickers.

He was the first Marysville officer to die in the line of duty in more than a century, leaving behind a wife and two sons, who, along with his parents and grandmother, were at City Hall to hear and receive the proclamation.

Mayor Chris Branscum, who has lost two sons in recent years, recalled something he was told after he first lost a son.

“When you lose a child, it’s always right there,” Branscum said. “When it’s not at the surface, it’s just below the surface.”

“It was personal to me and I wanted to make sure I read that proclamation from the city,” Branscum said. “I wanted, without being maudlin, I wanted to make sure they understood.”

Before the proclamations were read, two new officers were sworn in to the Marysville force, joining the relatively small department enforcing law in the Yuba County city of about 13,000 residents.

The city is ordering new signage bearing Rodarte’s name, Branscum said, though it’s unclear when the signs will be installed. When they are, the city plans to hold another ceremony.

“We waited this long because we knew his parents had been through a lot and doing something sooner would have been too much,” Branscum said. “But not doing something would have been unacceptable.”

This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 1:21 PM.