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Officer

Daniel C. Martinez

Fort Smith Police Department — Fort Smith, AR

Felonious

End of Watch March 23, 2007

Age 33

Tour of Duty 12 yrs

The Vigil Panel 346 · Column 2 · Line 12 ›

Gender Male

Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 11

Incident

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.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and five children.

In Our Keeping

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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.
Officer Martinez gave the Fort Smith Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Fort Smith community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Martinez.

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

Agency

Department Fort Smith Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Fort Smith, Sebastian County, AR

Platform Identity fortpd.sebastian.ar.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 23, 2007

Tour of Duty 12 yrs

Age 33

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Cause Detail Gunfire

Weapon Handgun; 9 mm

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Daniel is one of 15,742 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,102 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

Compare against

Time

In 2007, 84 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 77th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States

Who

Daniel was 33. Of the 14,219 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Daniel had served 12 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death

Where he stood among them

Age by years of service

III

When

March holds 7.5% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Fridays: 14.3%.

By month

By day of the week

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was handgun; 9 mm, in 0.2% of these deaths.

Every cause

Weapons recorded