Des Moines Police Dept., Urbandale Police Dept.(NEW YORK) — Two Iowa police officers were slain in the line of duty Wednesday morning; one was a married Sgt. with children, and the other was an officer in his 20’s, just beginning a career in law enforcement.
They were identified as Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Beminio of the Des Moines Police Department and Officer Justin Martin of the Urbandale Police Department. The officers were fatally shot in the two Iowa cities about 20 minutes apart; the first shooting was in Urbandale, the second was in nearby Des Moines.
The suspected gunman, 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene, was caught just hours later and taken into custody in Dallas County, just west of Des Moines, authorities said.
Police said they believed Greene was targeting police officers.
Beminio, 39, who was married with children, had worked for the Des Moines Police Department for 11 years, Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said in a news conference.
He was a “popular officer” and a “solid performer” who was promoted last year, he added.
Parizek said he had “worked with him on the night patrol for several years,” called Beminio a “good friend” and a “fantastic family man.”
Martin, 24, who was not married, was from Rockville City and had a college degree in criminal justice, Urbandale Police Chief Ross McCarty said in a press conference.
“Shortly thereafter, he pursued employment with us and we were fortunate enough to hire a very good young man,” McCarty said.
He was hired in August of 2015, entered the academy and graduated in December of the same year.
“He spent the next four months going through field training with us,” McCarty said. “This summer, he was put into a one-man probationary unit. At the end of this summer … we released him from probation and trained him into a one man unit with full civil service right to the city.”
At the time of the shooting, Martin was working his shift from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
“We had high expectations of his future and it has tragically been cut very short here,” McCarty said.
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