Small town mourns officer killed in Des Moines suburb
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At least 1,000 law enforcement officers and much of the small Iowa community of Rockwell City have gathered to mourn the death of a 24-year-old police officer nearly a week after he and another officer were gunned down in their patrol cars.
Residents and officers packed into a middle school gymnasium Tuesday to remember Justin Martin, a rookie officer in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale who grew up in Rockwell City.
An Urbandale man is charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 2 shooting deaths of Martin and 38-year-old Des Moines police Sgt. Anthony Beminio.
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Speaking at the service, Urbandale Police Chief Ross McCarty described the "great pain" of Martin's death, saying the department was "not prepared to have his life stolen from us."