It’s been more than six years since the shooting death of Davis police officer Natalie Corona, and the community of Davis is still coming together to honor her life in big ways.
A new splash pad called Natalie’s Corner recently opened in the college town’s Central Park. Corona was 22 years old when she was shot and killed by a gunman while responding to a car accident. She had just completed field training a few weeks prior.
Former Davis mayor Lois Wolk is chair of the Natalie Corona Committee, which led the park project in collaboration with many partners.
When Corona was killed, the community outpouring was massive. More than 8,000 people, including the governor attended a memorial for Corona at the Pavillion on UC Davis’ campus, according to former Davis Enterprise columnist Bob Dunning.
Countless people began telling Wolk about the genuine interactions they had with the young officer, who grew up in Arbuckle. Wolk said those people were heartbroken because she was needlessly killed by someone who had fallen through the cracks of our ineffective mental health system.
“It was just a tragedy and the sense in the community was let’s do something that conveys her spirit, her happiness and will bring people together,” Wolk said.
Dozens of community leaders, law enforcement and locals joined Corona’s family for the grand opening of the park on Saturday, August 16.
Natalie Corona’s father Merced (right), along with his wife Lupe and three daughters, addressed the crowd attending the grand opening of Natalie’s Corner.Sally Longenecker/CapRadio
California State Parks Director Armando Quintaro was among the officials in attendance. The city was awarded a Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Grant in 2021 for the park.
Deanne Machado, Davis Parks and Community Services Director said this has been “a Davis story, through and through.”
“[Natalie] was being actively pursued by different police departments, and we were super scared that she was going to choose to work somewhere else, and she chose Davis,” Machado said. “And this project is evidence that we chose her back, in a big way.”
The community raised more than $500,000 for the project, according to Machado. Local artist Susan Shelton was hired to create tiles depicting moments from Natalie’s life.
Tiles painted by local artist Susan Shelton surround the splash park, depicting moments from Natalie Corona’s life.Courtesy of Debbie Cannon
Corona’s father Merced served in law enforcement in Colusa County for over two decades and now sits on the board of supervisors there. He addressed the crowd of more than 100 people at the park opening.
“These men and women that are out there today serving and continuing to do the job that Natalie once loved and couldn’t see herself doing anything else.. they’re out there day and night, weekends, protecting our liberties,” he said. “Please thank a law enforcement officer every time you see them, because they do the work.”
After the speeches, the gates opened up and the community poured into the new park. Merced, Corona’s three sisters Jackie, Kathy and Cindy, and mother Lupe watched as kids began running around, dipping their hands in the colorful fountains. Lupe had a big smile.
The Corona family watches kids play at the grand opening of Natalie’s Corner.Sally Longenecker/CapRadio
“To see this come to fruition and to see the kids just totally having such a wonderful time right now… wow,” Lupe said, adding that she wanted to thank the community and the committee for doing such a beautiful job.
“Every detail, every aspect of the design is a little part of [Natalie],” she said. One example is one of the tiles says “I’m looking for rollie pollies,” which Lupe says is from when Natalie was playing baseball as a young child, and they asked her what she was doing.
The splash park is free to the public and is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily during the summer in Central Park, at the corner of 5th and B streets, in Davis.
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