Edward Adolph Martinez
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Edward Adolph Martinez

Cardiac
End of Watch November 15, 1980
Age 34
Tour of Duty 11 mo
The Vigil Panel 123 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Edward Martinez suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after he and several other deputies struggled with a prisoner during the booking process.

Deputy Martinez had served with the Denver Sheriff's Department for 11 months.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CO-06AAE4B1
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Martinez served with the Denver Sheriff's Department.
Thank you for your service to the Denver community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Martinez.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Denver, CO
Platform Identity dso.denver.co.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 15, 1980
Tour of Duty 11 mo
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac
Weapon Person
Offender Not available

Deputy Sheriff Edward Adolph Martinez is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In CO, 11 of 360 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points below the national rate of 4%.

At Denver Sheriff's Department, 1 of 7 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 14.3% of this agency's fallen.

Denver Sheriff's Department
1
of 7 officers
14.3% Cardiac
CO — Statewide
11
of 360 officers
3.1% Cardiac
Nationwide
1,306
of 32,508 officers
4% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward Adolph Martinez's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Edward Adolph Martinez Compares

Age at End of Watch
34
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
0.9
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

Offender Outcome

Not available

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Edward Adolph Martinez is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Incident Location