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Slain Urbandale officer’s funeral is set for Rockwell City

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November 8th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The second funeral for the central Iowa police officers killed last week will take place today (Tuesday) in a small town in Calhoun County. The service to honor 24-year-old Urbandale officer Justin Martin is at the South Calhoun Middle School in his hometown of Rockwell City. It will start at 11:40, which was the officer’s badge number.

Officer Justin Martin

Officer Justin Martin

Martin was shot to death early last Wednesday while on patrol in Urbandale. Martin had just finished his probationary period with the department in August. He became the first ever Urbandale officer to be killed in the line of duty when he was shot while stopped at an intersection last Wednesday morning.

Des Moines officer Tony Beminio was shot to death after responding to the call about Martin’s shooting. Beminio was laid to rest Monday and Pastor Mike Householder summed up the feelings of those at his funeral. “It isn’t right it isn’t fair,” he said. Some 15-hundred law officers from around the country attended Beminio’s funeral and most are also expected to be there for Martin’s as well. Martin will be laid to rest at the Rosehill Cemetery on the edge of Rockwell City.

The entire Urbandale Police Department plans to attend the funeral. The Urbandale Police Department spokesman says with the large amount of police cars in the funeral procession they will have to loop outside the tiny town on the way to the cemetery in order to get all the cars into the procession.

(Radio Iowa)