Officer William J. Martin was a 38-year-old, ten-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department when he was killed while responding to a narcotics complaint on October 10, 1989. He entered an apartment building in the 1500 block of Pennsylvania Avenue and was ascending stairs to the second-floor landing when a 20-year-old suspect ambushed him and fired, striking him twice in the head and once in the left shoulder. Officer Martin died at the scene.

After the shooting the suspect tried to flee through a rear door and was confronted by Officer Herman L. Brooks, Jr., who was struck twice but survived; his department-issued soft-body armor is credited with saving his life. The suspect was wounded in the abdomen during a brief exchange of gunfire and was taken into custody as he tried to escape onto a parking lot. He was later sentenced to life in prison.

Officer Martin was a father of two and a career officer. Does anyone have memories of him, his service, or information about that night?