Abilene turns out for Austin police officer's interment at veterans cemetery

Dragonflies danced in the sunlit air Tuesday as law enforcement officers and others from Austin, Abilene and Dyess Air Force Base gave silent, slow salutes to honor the memory of senior officer Anthony "Tony" Martin.

Martin, an Austin police officer previously stationed at the base, was laid to rest in the Texas State Veterans Cemetery with military honors.

Officers stood on either side of the walkway saluting silently as his coffin was carried, including Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon.

Later, rifles cracked and flags fluttered, including one carefully folded by Dyess honor guard before being handed to members of Martin's family.

Before the 1 p.m. service Tuesday, a funeral procession honoring him wound through part of Abilene, starting near the Taylor County Expo Center and heading down Judge Ely Boulevard toward Ambler Avenue, on to West Lake Road and ending at the cemetery.

Dozens of motorcycles, police and other law enforcement vehicles from Austin, Travis County and local agencies made up the funeral train, their arrival creating a distant hum that became a subtle roar as they arrived.

High above, a film crew caught drone footage of Martin's arrival.

Before dawn on the morning of Sept. 23, Martin was driving home following a night shift when his motorcycle was involved in a crash with a sedan in Liberty Hill outside Austin. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Speaking before the service, Chacon said he and some of his executive and command staff had made the trip to Abilene to see a fellow officer to his place of rest.

"We don't lose officers in the line of duty very often," he said. "The ones we do, we need to make sure that we take them all the way − that we honor them with the honor that they are due, and that means all the way to the graveside."

Martin is survived by his parents, wife, three children and one granddaughter.

Dyess memories

Befitting his time at Dyess, much of Tuesday's service focused closely on his career here, with Jay Strong, who served as Martin's first sergeant at Dyess, taking the lead.

He praised Martin's initiative in taking Dyess' security forces to the next level and his own high-level work as a Phoenix Raven, an elite security force providing security for aircraft in areas deemed to be high in threats for terrorist or criminal activity.

There are only about 3,000 Ravens in the program's 30-year history. Martin's "Raven number" is 257.

A visibly emotional Strong offered his own praise, calling Martin "solid" in everything he did. Strong also read several letters from military personnel who served with Martin, reminiscing on his true grit in handling difficult times and the camaraderie he established with other airmen.

The latter was true whether he was winning pizza-eating challenges, to his own later detriment, or helping transform Dyess' security squadron from one of the worst in Air Combat Command to the very best.

"Tony was the definition of integrity," said Strong, reading one of the letters. "He never asked anyone to do anything that he wouldn't do himself. He was the driving force that brought the Phoenix Raven program to Dyess Air Force Base because he wanted to take (security forces) beyond the normal and give ... individuals like him an opportunity to excel. And they did."

Austin successes

Much of his 16-year Austin police career was in the motor division, enforcing traffic laws and making DWI arrests, said Chacon during a eulogy Monday at the funeral service at Hill Country Bible Church in North Austin.

Martin made nearly 1,800 DWI arrests throughout his career, second-most of any Austin officer in the department's history, Chacon said. Martin holds the record for the most DWI arrests in a year with 355 in 2012 as well as the single night record with five DWI arrests.

Hogan Gore with the Austin American-Statesman contributed to this story.

More:Public invited to line procession route for Austin police officer being interred in Abilene

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene honors Austin police officer at veterans cemetery