A Los Angeles Police Department officer and a future father of twins have died of coronavirus complications on Friday. The mayor of the city ordered that all the city’s flags be lowered in honor of officer Valentin “Val” Martínez.
Police said Martinez was expecting twins with his domestic partner who is 20 weeks pregnant. She is also survived by her mother and siblings, according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Martinez was the first LAPD sworn officer to die from the virus and the second department employee, reports CBS Los Angeles. LAPD said Martinez, 45, was assigned to Mission Station and had joined the force in 2007.
“Officer Martinez committed his life to all of us … he was one of those front-line individuals who embodies this family from the city government,” Garcetti said Friday night during his coronavirus press conference. “He made the ultimate sacrifice serving all of us … our city is grieving with his family and loved ones.”
The Los Angeles Police Protection League said it would always remember Martinez’s service to the city, according to CBS LA.
“Today we regret the loss of Los Angeles police officer Valentin ‘Val’ Martinez, 45, who succumbed today to complications related to COVID-19,” the union said in a statement, CBS LA reported. “He was a lost hero too early in life.”
CBS LA said in early July that Erica McAdoo, a 39-year-old LAPD senior detention officer, died of the coronavirus. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is among the nation’s coronavirus hot spots. Los Angeles County recorded 166,848 coronavirus cases and 4,262 deaths from the disease, according to CBS LA.
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