Robert Townes Martinez Jr.
Police Officer

Robert Townes Martinez Jr.

Austin Police Department — Austin, TX
Accident
End of Watch February 25, 1989
Age 26
Tour of Duty 4 yrs 6 mo
The Vigil Panel 134 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Martinez was killed in an accident when his patrol car hit a tree at the intersection of East Second Street and Chicon Street. He was responding to a shots-fired call when a vehicle entered an the intersection in front of him from Chicon Street. He swerved to avoid the vehicle and struck the tree.

Survivors

Officer Martinez served with the Austin Police Department for four and a half years and is survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-AB477608
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Martinez gave the Austin Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Austin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Martinez.

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

Agency

Type Other
Location Austin, TX
Platform Identity apd.travis.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 25, 1989
Tour of Duty 4 yrs 6 mo
Age 26
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Police Officer Robert Townes Martinez Jr. is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In TX, 657 of 2,422 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.1% of this state's fallen. That is 27.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Austin Police Department, 12 of 28 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 42.9% of this agency's fallen.

Austin Police Department
12
of 28 officers
42.9% Accident
TX — Statewide
657
of 2,422 officers
27.1% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert Townes Martinez Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Robert Townes Martinez Jr. Compares

Age at Death
26
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
4.5
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Townes Martinez Jr. is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location