Urbandale Memorial Service Will Honor Fallen Officer

URBANDALE, IA — One year ago today, the Urbandale Police Department was changed when it lost one of its own in the line of duty. Police Officer Justin Martin was shot and killed early on the morning of Nov. 2, 2016, as he sat in his patrol car.

Today, the department will honor the service and sacrifice of its colleague with a memorial service in front of the police station, 3740 86th St. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m.

Martin had been with the Urbandale Police Department just 15 months. He was hired in August 2015, shortly after he graduated from Simpson College with a degree in criminal justice. He completed the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy at the end of that year.

Martin remains the only Urbandale officer to die in the line of duty in the department's history. But on that day, he was one of two metro police officers killed. Shortly after Scott Michael Greene shot Martin, he encountered Des Moines Police Sgt. Anthony Beminio a short distance away while he, too, was sitting in his vehicle. Greene also shot and killed Beminio.

Greene pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder earlier this year and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.

A wreath is set up outside the Urbandale Police Department on Nov. 2, 2016, after officer Justin Martin was slain./Photo by Steve Pope/Getty Images