SOUNDVIEW, Bronx (WABC) — Fellow officers and friends remembering the impact of Officer Alexis Martinez’s camaraderie and commitment are now reeling from the impact of losing him.
As they released balloons into the sky, they comforted a family coping with a double loss.
Martinez was shot and killed by his own father on Wednesday in their Soundview home. His father then took his own life in a murder-suicide.
“This is a true community tragedy,” said New York State Assembly member Manny De Los Santos.
The 34 Precinct in Washington Heights, the heart of New York’s Dominican community was where Martinez, who was also Dominican, spent four out of five years of his career with the NYPD. He joined the Bronx Narcotics Division earlier this year.
“It was important to him to have purpose in life and pursue a career that would give him that purpose and that satisfaction of knowing when you put in a day’s work, you’ve helped your community, you’ve made a difference,” said Commanding Officer Aneudy Castillo.
“He looked after his people. A heartwarming smile, laugh. Anybody that knew him knew his smile,” said his cousin, Felix Camacho.
Camacho says Martinez, as he knew him, inspired him to pursue a career in law enforcement. And that his uncle, Martinez’s dad, struggled with mental health.
“But he was never a violent man, I can’t say that enough,” Camacho said.
The unexpected loss of a dedicated officer is one Martinez understood. He graduated from the Police Academy with Officer William Mora, who was killed in an ambush in Harlem last year.
“I’m sure he went to the vigil and the funeral, and he experienced this. And today we’re doing it for him,” said Alejandro Zayas of the New York State Chaplain Task Force.
A NYPD funeral for Officer Martinez is being planned for the next week.
Martinez loved playing baseball with his NYPD colleagues. One good cause he played for that was near and dear to him was ‘Beyond the Badge,’ an organization with a goal of breaking the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide.
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