Iowa

Central Iowa police departments share tributes to officers killed in 2016 ambush

Published

4 years ago

November 2, 2020

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Law enforcement agencies in central Iowa are remembering two fallen officers on the anniversary of a 2016 ambush-style attack.

Des Moines Police Sgt. Tony Beminio and Urbandale Police officer Justin Martin were killed in separate shootings while they sat in their patrol cars on Nov. 2, 2016. The shootings took place about two miles apart and within minutes of each other. Scott Greene was charged with first-degree murder in both killings to which he pleaded guilty in 2017. He is serving life in prison.

The Des Moines Police Department posted a video on its Facebook page in tribute to Beminio. Urbandale Police changed their Facebook page profile picture to logos representing both departments, along with a modified version of the U.S. flag to represent the mourning of a fallen officer.

The Iowa State Patrol’s Facebook page also paid tribute to the officers, saying “we ask that you keep their families, friends, and fellow officers in your thoughts and prayers.”

The shootings drew national attention, with President Barack Obama calling the attacks “shameful.”

“Sergeant Anthony Beminio and Officer Justin Martin represented our best, most decent instincts as human beings – to serve our neighbors, to put ourselves in harm’s way for someone else. They knew the dangers of their job. They knew the risks. Yet they chose to dedicate themselves to those values anyway. So today, Michelle and I join Americans across our country in expressing our condolences and stand in solidarity with their grieving families, fellow officers, and the communities they served so honorably,” Obama wrote in a statement in 2016.