Rockwell City mourns native officer killed

By REBECCA MCKINSEY
r.mckinsey@carrollspaper.com

ROCKWELL CITY — As hundreds of police officers stood in silent rows, only the coo of three doves broke the silence at the Rosehill Cemetery Tuesday.

Then, Ryan Martin, barely able to stand, released one of the white doves from trembling hands, watching as the tribute to his big brother, Justin Martin, flew away.

He clutched his father as the pair slowly walked back to a tent where a shocked family tried to say goodbye to Martin, 24, a Rockwell City native and Urbandale police officer who was killed last week.

An honor guard shot three rounds from rifles. A lone officer played taps. Ryan and his parents, Randy and Jayne Martin, held each other up.

Then, from inside the blue tent that sheltered Martin’s casket and his family, an anguished sob:

“Justin, I love you.”

Martin is one of two police officers, along with Des Moines Police Sgt. Tony Beminio, who were shot and killed in the Des Moines area last Wednesday.

Soon after, suspect Scott Michael Greene was arrested, secured with Martin’s and Beminio’s handcuffs and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

It was a blow for Rockwell City, which overflowed with police officers and first responders from around the state and country during Martin’s funeral at South Central Calhoun Middle School Tuesday.

More than 100 officers had to watch the funeral from a second room because so many attended, and the lines of vehicles — hundreds of them — driving with flashing lights in the procession leading to the cemetery afterward stretched for miles.

“This past week, the Urbandale Police Department lost our young man, but the community of Rockwell City lost their son,” Urbandale Police Chief Ross McCarty said during the funeral.

Martin was buried just yards from Rockwell City Police Officer Jamie Buenting at the Rosehill Cemetery in Rockwell City. Buenting, who taught Martin how to use a handgun, was shot and killed three years ago.

“Unfortunately, this job doesn’t come without real danger, and an ultimate sacrifice was made three years ago,” Martin wrote on Facebook in September, three years after Buenting died.

Tuesday, Martin’s comrades said the same about him.
Martin was born in Dubuque, grew up in Rockwell City and graduated from Rockwell City-Lytton High School in 2011.

He studied criminal justice at Simpson College, graduating in 2015. He also graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy’s Class 265 and, alongside lifelong friend Brady Farrington, was hired as an officer with the Urbandale Police Department.

Farrington broke down several times while speaking at the funeral Tuesday about serving alongside his hero.

The two knew each other since kindergarten and went through dozens of activities and rites of passage together — Scouts, sports, the law enforcement academy.

Martin’s story was truly a tale of two cities, Farrington said, quoting Charles Dickens’ classic several times during the eulogy for his friend.

Rockwell City crafted his identity, and he took that on to his work in Urbandale, Farrington said, describing Martin as a “professional protector.”

“Justin truly was the best that humanity had to offer,” he said.

Martin, just 24 when he died, was an unusually young hire for the Urbandale Police Department when he joined the force with his lifelong friend a year ago, McCarty said.

“We hired Justin because … he was a man of integrity,” McCarty said during the funeral, his voice breaking. “We were not prepared to have Justin’s life stolen from us.

“The Urbandale PD and the Des Moines PD, we are in great pain. This will not be easy to overcome.”

Martin enjoyed being part of a team — he did better on a track relay team than solo runs. He was a careful lifeguard whose underwater bubble-blowing antics for Rockwell City kids earned him the title “Mr. Bubbles.” He was an obedient yet crafty son who, at a young age, took his shoes off to wade into a pond and obey his mom’s directive to keep his shoes dry, rather than staying out of the pond altogether.

And he was a hero, Farrington said.

“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss,” he said, breaking down as he again quoted “A Tale of Two Cities.”

“It is a far, far better thing that he does than he has ever done. It is a far, far better rest that he goes to than he has ever known.”

Near the end of the funeral, as hands clutched crumpled tissues throughout the middle school, a recorded dispatcher’s voice rang across the room during the end-of-watch call that is traditional at police officers’ funerals, incorporating Martin’s badge number, 1140.
 

“Urbandale pin 1140 from Westcom.”
…
“Urbandale pin 1140 from Westcom.”
…
“Urbandale pin 1140, Officer Martin, from Westcom.”
…
“There is no answer for Urbandale 1140.”

The voice continued, referencing the police code for ending a tour of duty:

“Officer Justin Martin went 10-42 for the final time on November 2, 2016. Officer Martin, your brothers and sisters in blue will forever watch over your family. May you rest in eternal peace.”

But Farrington, his voice choked, said he imagined it a little differently.

“On a rainy November morning, amidst God’s tears, I can only imagine it sounded something like this,” he said.

“Urbandale pin 1140.”
“1140, go ahead, Lord.”
“Justin, my son, it’s time to come home.”
“Officer Justin Scott Martin Urbandale, 1140, en route.”

As the funeral closed, Pastor Anita Bane addressed the room full of police officers, thanking them for the risks they take.

“What we’re doing today isn’t just, and it isn’t right, and it isn’t fair,” she said. “We gather as a community today to remind each other that the negative energy, in whatever form it comes, however powerful it seems, does not have the last word. … Hope and joy, love and peace and grace and forgiveness cannot and will not be extinguished or taken from us.”

Almost two years ago, Martin posted on Facebook, the words large and bold online:

“With hope there’s always a better tomorrow.”