As parents of a police officer, Pismo Beach residents Becky and Marc Bowen knew the risks of their son’s profession, but they never thought they would have to live through their worst nightmare.
Their son Matthew Brent Bowen, a Vacaville officer, was killed in the line of duty on July 11.
“You think the odds are probably on your side,” Becky said.
“That’s right,” her husband Marc agreed. “That’s the sort of thing that only happens to other people.”
Matthew Bowen, 32, was pulled over on the side of an intersection in Vacaville conducting a traffic stop on a motorcycle when he was fatally hit by an oncoming vehicle.
The driver, 24-year-old Serena C.J. Rodriguez, was charged with felony murder by the Solano County District Attorney’s office on Monday, with enhancements for the intentional killing of a police officer.
She has a criminal history and a bench warrant was out for her arrest in Placer County at the time of the crash, prosecutors said.
Rodriguez is expected to reappear in court on Aug. 19 for a medical review of her mental competency to stand trial. She is currently being held in Solano County jail without bail.
A total of five cars were involved in the crash, according to ABC-10, and one other person sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital that day.
Bowen is the first Vacaville police officer to be killed in the line of duty. He is survived by his wife, two sons, parents and a brother.
Police officer death a loss felt across the community
Matthew Bowen was born in Walnut Creek and raised nearby in Fairfield. Growing up, he was an accomplished musician, athlete and Eagle Scout, his parents said. The couple retired and moved to Pismo Beach almost a decade ago.
“He was just really sweet as a kid and just a very kind man,” his mother Becky said.
Becky described her son as a hard worker, always holding a job since age 16. In fact, Bowen met his wife, Elizabeth Williamson, at the restaurant where they worked together as teenagers. The pair were married at his parents’ home in Pismo Beach in 2020 and had two sons together.
Bowen’s parents recall him starting to talk about police work in his teenage years, around the time he became interested in body building through his high school wrestling career.
“I remember he had a copy of Schwarzenegger’s body building book,” Becky said, laughing. “I don’t know if that influenced him at all.”
Bowen was a 2019 graduate of the Napa Police Academy. He served with the Concord Police Department for three and a half years before transferring to the Vacaville department in July 2023, where he earned his certification as a motorcycle officer.
The night before his death, Bowen participated in the annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Night at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
Becky and Marc were in Vacaville visiting their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren at the time. He proudly drove his motorcycle around the Giants’ field while his family watched on television from their home.
The next morning, the call to come to the hospital came out of nowhere.
“We were pretty much in shock,” Marc said.
“We stayed at the hospital for a good several hours. When we left, all the nurses, doctors, and a lot of police were just lined up outside,” Becky said, choking up as she spoke about the heartwarming response to the loss of her son.
A procession of hundreds of police cars and motorcycles “a couple miles long” escorted the family to the coroner’s office in Fairfield.
The outpouring of support from the Vacaville community “was very moving,” Becky said.
When the Vacaville Police Department posted the notice about Bowen’s death, “hundreds and hundreds of people responded” in the comments, she said.
His parents recalled one person commented that Bowen had given him a ticket a month before and described their son as one of the kindest officers he’d encountered in a long time, even while reprimanding him.
Matthew was the type of police officer who would play Christmas music in his patrol car around the holidays so that the people that he had arrested could listen to carols in the back seat, his mother said. His parents said that he once saved a man’s life by performing CPR until the paramedics arrived on the scene, earning him a letter of commendation.
A closed memorial was held on Tuesday to honor the fallen officer’s life. The service was livestreamed on the city of Vacaville’s YouTube channel.
“Officer Bowen exemplified the highest standards of service and integrity in all that he did,” Vacaville Police Chaplain Jim Wilson said at the memorial. “To his duty, he demonstrated a selfless dedication that went beyond the call of duty, embodying the true spirit of public service.”
Two memorial funds set up for Bowen’s family can be found at porac.org/fundraiser/vacavillepoa-matt-bowen/ and vacavillepolicefoundation.org/officer-matthew-bowen-memorial-fund/.
Suspect charged with ‘intentional’ felony murder
Serena Rodriguez, the driver accused of killing Bowen, was arraigned on Monday, marking her second appearance in court.
The Solano County District Attorney’s office filed a felony complaint accusing her of murder, with enhancements for murder of a police officer, use of a deadly weapon and use of a deadly or dangerous weapon.
The complaint alleges “a special circumstance” that Bowen was “intentionally killed while he was engaged in the performance of his duties,” Solano County District Attorney Krishna A. Abrams said in a statement on the day of her original arraignment July 15.
The DA has yet to elaborate on why the homicide was ruled as intentional, which requires both premeditation and malicious intent.
Rodriguez was on probation in Placer County when she was arrested on the day of Bowen’s death. She has criminal history including intentionally flooding her own apartment, custodial possession of a weapon, and vehicular vandalism under the influence of drugs, according to the Placer County DA’s office.
Rodriguez attempted to flee the scene of the crash on foot before her arrest but was restrained by bystanders, according to the California Highway Patrol.
In her second court appearance on Monday, Rodriguez and her attorney allegedly had a disagreement about the plea bargain.
After she requested a replacement of her public defender, the judge cleared the courtroom to speak with the defendant privately. The judge ultimately denied the substitution and expressed doubt as to Rodriguez’s competency to stand trial.
Rodriquez is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 19, when a doctor’s report on her mental competency will be presented.
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