Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Nat Martin was killed when his service revolver accidentally discharged as he and a posse were pursuing two car thieves.
As Deputy Martin stepped out of his car he caught his revolver trigger against the door causing the revolver to fire, the bullet entering his arm and chest.
Deputy Martin had been appointed a deputy only three weeks before his death.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IA-3AEA79FC- 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 Martin served with the Tama County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Toledo community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Martin.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Nathaniel "Nat" Martin is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In IA, 71 of 226 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.4 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Nathaniel "Nat" Martin's cause is highlighted.
How Nathaniel "Nat" Martin Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Nathaniel "Nat" Martin is highlighted in Aug.