He was born the son of Antonio Garcia Zarate & Cristina {Hernandez} Zarate.
Marco passed away in the line of duty at the age of 52. He served in the Motorcycle Unit of the Bellaire Police Department and in the United States Marine Corp.
Marco leaves behind a family that adored him; who he loved and cared for deeply. He is survived by his wife Cecilia; three daughters, Meghan, Miah, and Mayah; parents Cristina Jamaux and Marco Zarate Sr.; step-parents JC Jamaux and Soccoro Zarate; parent-in-laws Enrique and Betty Ponce; younger sisters Maggie Zarate, Cynthia Tamez, and Yvonne Zarate; nieces Alexis, Aliza, and Pilar; nephews Eric, Christian, Jonathan, and Abel; and brother-in-laws Mike Cavazos, Raul Rodriguez and Guillermo Ponce.
He volunteered with the Special Olympics annually and was an active member in the Thin Blue Line motorcycle police community. He valued health and wellness and earned his second-degree black belt in Karate. His family and friends will remember him always for his infectious sense of humor, unwavering dependability, and the endless supply of love he provided.
Bellaire police and the community were in mourning Tuesday evening for Officer Marco Antonio Zarate, who died hours earlier when he lost control of his motorcycle as he chased shoplifting suspects through a southwest Houston neighborhood.
His chief, Byron Holloway, remembered Zarate — known to colleagues as "Marco" — as a "great guy…always had a smile on his face."
Outside the Bellaire Police Department, an impromptu memorial sprang up at the base of the flagpole where the U.S. and Texas flags were already flying at half-mast in memory of five slain Dallas law enforcement officers.
A Marine veteran, the 52-year-old Zarate had joined the Bellaire P.D. in 2009 and the following year was nominated for the Bellaire Optimist Club Officer of the Year for crackerjack police work in tracking down and arresting an armed robbery suspect.
To his family, Holloway said, the officer was known as "Tony." He leaves behind a wife and three daughters — one 25 years old and 11-year-old twins.
Houston police are investigating Zarate's death starting with the crime at Meyerland Plaza, to which Zarate had responded when he heard it on his radio and spotted the suspects, identified as two black men. They had been involved in shoplifting at the Target store, and when Zarate spotted them and notified dispatch, they were near the Talbott's outlet store near the 610 South feeder road.
The specific are unclear, Holloway said, except that the men fled and Zarate gave chase along Beechnut Street.
HPD spokesman Victor Senties, speaking earlier at the accident scene, said Zarate apparently turned the corner at Ferris Street at high speed and lost control of his motorcycle, slamming into a parked lawn service trailer. The vehicle ended up in a front yard; eyewitnesses found the officer in the street.
He was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital at the Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Senties said HPD was hoping surveillance video from Meyerland Plaza might provide clues to the suspects' identities.
At 5 p.m., Holloway met the local media at the hospital, flanked by Harris County D.A. Devon Anderson — a Bellaire resident — along with Bellaire City Manager Paul Hofmann, Mayor Andrew Friedberg, Mayor Pro Tem Roman Reed and Councilmember David Montague.
The chief noted that national media was trying to tie Zarate's death to "something greater," but said it was really about something fundamental, the "day-in-day-out work" of policing.
"This was a police officer doing his job for the community he loved," Holloway said. "He lost his life in the line of duty just like American police officers do every two to three days in this country. That is the story."
Marco passed away in the line of duty at the age of 52. He served in the Motorcycle Unit of the Bellaire Police Department and in the United States Marine Corp.
Marco leaves behind a family that adored him; who he loved and cared for deeply. He is survived by his wife Cecilia; three daughters, Meghan, Miah, and Mayah; parents Cristina Jamaux and Marco Zarate Sr.; step-parents JC Jamaux and Soccoro Zarate; parent-in-laws Enrique and Betty Ponce; younger sisters Maggie Zarate, Cynthia Tamez, and Yvonne Zarate; nieces Alexis, Aliza, and Pilar; nephews Eric, Christian, Jonathan, and Abel; and brother-in-laws Mike Cavazos, Raul Rodriguez and Guillermo Ponce.
He volunteered with the Special Olympics annually and was an active member in the Thin Blue Line motorcycle police community. He valued health and wellness and earned his second-degree black belt in Karate. His family and friends will remember him always for his infectious sense of humor, unwavering dependability, and the endless supply of love he provided.
Bellaire police and the community were in mourning Tuesday evening for Officer Marco Antonio Zarate, who died hours earlier when he lost control of his motorcycle as he chased shoplifting suspects through a southwest Houston neighborhood.
His chief, Byron Holloway, remembered Zarate — known to colleagues as "Marco" — as a "great guy…always had a smile on his face."
Outside the Bellaire Police Department, an impromptu memorial sprang up at the base of the flagpole where the U.S. and Texas flags were already flying at half-mast in memory of five slain Dallas law enforcement officers.
A Marine veteran, the 52-year-old Zarate had joined the Bellaire P.D. in 2009 and the following year was nominated for the Bellaire Optimist Club Officer of the Year for crackerjack police work in tracking down and arresting an armed robbery suspect.
To his family, Holloway said, the officer was known as "Tony." He leaves behind a wife and three daughters — one 25 years old and 11-year-old twins.
Houston police are investigating Zarate's death starting with the crime at Meyerland Plaza, to which Zarate had responded when he heard it on his radio and spotted the suspects, identified as two black men. They had been involved in shoplifting at the Target store, and when Zarate spotted them and notified dispatch, they were near the Talbott's outlet store near the 610 South feeder road.
The specific are unclear, Holloway said, except that the men fled and Zarate gave chase along Beechnut Street.
HPD spokesman Victor Senties, speaking earlier at the accident scene, said Zarate apparently turned the corner at Ferris Street at high speed and lost control of his motorcycle, slamming into a parked lawn service trailer. The vehicle ended up in a front yard; eyewitnesses found the officer in the street.
He was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital at the Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Senties said HPD was hoping surveillance video from Meyerland Plaza might provide clues to the suspects' identities.
At 5 p.m., Holloway met the local media at the hospital, flanked by Harris County D.A. Devon Anderson — a Bellaire resident — along with Bellaire City Manager Paul Hofmann, Mayor Andrew Friedberg, Mayor Pro Tem Roman Reed and Councilmember David Montague.
The chief noted that national media was trying to tie Zarate's death to "something greater," but said it was really about something fundamental, the "day-in-day-out work" of policing.
"This was a police officer doing his job for the community he loved," Holloway said. "He lost his life in the line of duty just like American police officers do every two to three days in this country. That is the story."
He was born the son of Antonio Garcia Zarate & Cristina {Hernandez} Zarate.
Marco passed away in the line of duty at the age of 52. He served in the Motorcycle Unit of the Bellaire Police Department and in the United States Marine Corp.
Marco leaves behind a family that adored him; who he loved and cared for deeply. He is survived by his wife Cecilia; three daughters, Meghan, Miah, and Mayah; parents Cristina Jamaux and Marco Zarate Sr.; step-parents JC Jamaux and Soccoro Zarate; parent-in-laws Enrique and Betty Ponce; younger sisters Maggie Zarate, Cynthia Tamez, and Yvonne Zarate; nieces Alexis, Aliza, and Pilar; nephews Eric, Christian, Jonathan, and Abel; and brother-in-laws Mike Cavazos, Raul Rodriguez and Guillermo Ponce.
He volunteered with the Special Olympics annually and was an active member in the Thin Blue Line motorcycle police community. He valued health and wellness and earned his second-degree black belt in Karate. His family and friends will remember him always for his infectious sense of humor, unwavering dependability, and the endless supply of love he provided.
Bellaire police and the community were in mourning Tuesday evening for Officer Marco Antonio Zarate, who died hours earlier when he lost control of his motorcycle as he chased shoplifting suspects through a southwest Houston neighborhood.
His chief, Byron Holloway, remembered Zarate — known to colleagues as "Marco" — as a "great guy…always had a smile on his face."
Outside the Bellaire Police Department, an impromptu memorial sprang up at the base of the flagpole where the U.S. and Texas flags were already flying at half-mast in memory of five slain Dallas law enforcement officers.
A Marine veteran, the 52-year-old Zarate had joined the Bellaire P.D. in 2009 and the following year was nominated for the Bellaire Optimist Club Officer of the Year for crackerjack police work in tracking down and arresting an armed robbery suspect.
To his family, Holloway said, the officer was known as "Tony." He leaves behind a wife and three daughters — one 25 years old and 11-year-old twins.
Houston police are investigating Zarate's death starting with the crime at Meyerland Plaza, to which Zarate had responded when he heard it on his radio and spotted the suspects, identified as two black men. They had been involved in shoplifting at the Target store, and when Zarate spotted them and notified dispatch, they were near the Talbott's outlet store near the 610 South feeder road.
The specific are unclear, Holloway said, except that the men fled and Zarate gave chase along Beechnut Street.
HPD spokesman Victor Senties, speaking earlier at the accident scene, said Zarate apparently turned the corner at Ferris Street at high speed and lost control of his motorcycle, slamming into a parked lawn service trailer. The vehicle ended up in a front yard; eyewitnesses found the officer in the street.
He was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital at the Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Senties said HPD was hoping surveillance video from Meyerland Plaza might provide clues to the suspects' identities.
At 5 p.m., Holloway met the local media at the hospital, flanked by Harris County D.A. Devon Anderson — a Bellaire resident — along with Bellaire City Manager Paul Hofmann, Mayor Andrew Friedberg, Mayor Pro Tem Roman Reed and Councilmember David Montague.
The chief noted that national media was trying to tie Zarate's death to "something greater," but said it was really about something fundamental, the "day-in-day-out work" of policing.
"This was a police officer doing his job for the community he loved," Holloway said. "He lost his life in the line of duty just like American police officers do every two to three days in this country. That is the story."
Marco passed away in the line of duty at the age of 52. He served in the Motorcycle Unit of the Bellaire Police Department and in the United States Marine Corp.
Marco leaves behind a family that adored him; who he loved and cared for deeply. He is survived by his wife Cecilia; three daughters, Meghan, Miah, and Mayah; parents Cristina Jamaux and Marco Zarate Sr.; step-parents JC Jamaux and Soccoro Zarate; parent-in-laws Enrique and Betty Ponce; younger sisters Maggie Zarate, Cynthia Tamez, and Yvonne Zarate; nieces Alexis, Aliza, and Pilar; nephews Eric, Christian, Jonathan, and Abel; and brother-in-laws Mike Cavazos, Raul Rodriguez and Guillermo Ponce.
He volunteered with the Special Olympics annually and was an active member in the Thin Blue Line motorcycle police community. He valued health and wellness and earned his second-degree black belt in Karate. His family and friends will remember him always for his infectious sense of humor, unwavering dependability, and the endless supply of love he provided.
Bellaire police and the community were in mourning Tuesday evening for Officer Marco Antonio Zarate, who died hours earlier when he lost control of his motorcycle as he chased shoplifting suspects through a southwest Houston neighborhood.
His chief, Byron Holloway, remembered Zarate — known to colleagues as "Marco" — as a "great guy…always had a smile on his face."
Outside the Bellaire Police Department, an impromptu memorial sprang up at the base of the flagpole where the U.S. and Texas flags were already flying at half-mast in memory of five slain Dallas law enforcement officers.
A Marine veteran, the 52-year-old Zarate had joined the Bellaire P.D. in 2009 and the following year was nominated for the Bellaire Optimist Club Officer of the Year for crackerjack police work in tracking down and arresting an armed robbery suspect.
To his family, Holloway said, the officer was known as "Tony." He leaves behind a wife and three daughters — one 25 years old and 11-year-old twins.
Houston police are investigating Zarate's death starting with the crime at Meyerland Plaza, to which Zarate had responded when he heard it on his radio and spotted the suspects, identified as two black men. They had been involved in shoplifting at the Target store, and when Zarate spotted them and notified dispatch, they were near the Talbott's outlet store near the 610 South feeder road.
The specific are unclear, Holloway said, except that the men fled and Zarate gave chase along Beechnut Street.
HPD spokesman Victor Senties, speaking earlier at the accident scene, said Zarate apparently turned the corner at Ferris Street at high speed and lost control of his motorcycle, slamming into a parked lawn service trailer. The vehicle ended up in a front yard; eyewitnesses found the officer in the street.
He was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital at the Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Senties said HPD was hoping surveillance video from Meyerland Plaza might provide clues to the suspects' identities.
At 5 p.m., Holloway met the local media at the hospital, flanked by Harris County D.A. Devon Anderson — a Bellaire resident — along with Bellaire City Manager Paul Hofmann, Mayor Andrew Friedberg, Mayor Pro Tem Roman Reed and Councilmember David Montague.
The chief noted that national media was trying to tie Zarate's death to "something greater," but said it was really about something fundamental, the "day-in-day-out work" of policing.
"This was a police officer doing his job for the community he loved," Holloway said. "He lost his life in the line of duty just like American police officers do every two to three days in this country. That is the story."
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