Officer Daniel C. Martinez

Daniel C. Martinez

Officer Daniel Martinez was shot and killed while helping a mother retrieve her child from a residence.

Officer Martinez had responded to a call to help a mother get her child from a residence where she had a run in with her ex-boyfriend earlier in the day. The ex-boyfriend had been arrested and she had returned to pick up her child. She met the officer in the parking lot and they went to the front door and the brother of the man arrested earlier answered and told them to wait a minute, then shut the door. He returned with a 9 mm handgun and shot the police officer in the head, then shot the mother in the back, shoulder, and elbow as she fled. Officer Martinez was taken to Sparks Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The shooter fled from the home in a car and killed himself before Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers found him near Spiro, Oklahoma.

Officer Martinez had served for several years with the Poteau Police Department, Panama Police Department, Shady Point Police Department, and Wister Police Department, all of which are in Oklahoma. He joined the Fort Smith Police Department on July 3, 2006. He is survived by his wife and five children.