Officer Bryan Tuvera was killed in the line of duty in 2006. Photo: SFPD

For the past four years they have marched every Dec. 22 to remember fallen San Francisco police officer Bryan Tuvera. On Thursday evening, friends, family, colleagues, dignitaries and others will gather one last time for a final march in memory of the young man who was killed trying to capture a wanted man.

Officer Bryan Tuvera was shot at 8:35 p.m. Dec. 22, 2006 as he pursued a prison escapee and robbery suspect into the garage of a home on 25th Avenue. He died just after midnight the following day.

A ceremony will start with a gathering at about 7 p.m. Thursday evening on the 1600 block of 25th Avenue near Lawton Street in the Sunset Distric, said SFPD Sgt. Judy Riggle of Taraval Station, where Tuvera had been assigned. After a prayer by the city’s police chaplain, a candlelight march will proceed to Taraval Station, on 24th Avenue between Santiago and Taraval streets.

Riggle said that since this is the final annual march, current Taraval Station Capt. Curtis Lum and Sgt. Kevin Mannix have been working to make it a special one. The march is scheduled to include bagpipers, mounted officers, motorcycle officers and others, as well as the Fire Department engine that responded to the scene when Tuvera was shot. About 200 people attended last year’s march, Riggle said, but it’s likely that more will come this year.

Tuvera’s family — some of them also officers or other employees of the Police Department — has decided it’s time to move on from the annual march, but his former colleagues are seeking ways to create a lasting tribute to him, possibly including renaming part of a park near Taraval Station.