SEATTLE—
June's Officer of the Month is Seattle Police Officer Marcus Martin, whose Coast Guard Reserve unit was recently called up to go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And though he couldn't be here to accept his award in person, his heroic actions during a dangerous situation make him well deserving of the honor."He was a little bit embarrassed," said Martin's wife, Michelle Martin. "He thought this was much ado about nothing."
Tell that to the 75 residents he saved from a fire at the Henderson Arms Apartments in the south end of seattle.
When officer Marcus Martin arrived at the building last February, he found it engulfed in smoke and flames. But no one was outside.
His commander, Captain Les Liggins says Martin ran inside the building to alert everyone.
"When he reached the fire alarm, he saw that it was taped over, and therefore rendered inoperable. It took almost 30 seconds to rip all the tape away from the alarm and then activate the alarm, notifying residents that the building was on fire.
But he says officer Martin didn't stop there, going from floor to floor, knocking on doors and telling people to escape.
"It was not until smoke and fire became so intense that it drove him away from the building," Liggins said.
Back outisde, Captain Liggins says Martin made sure the crowd kept a safe distance from the building, then stayed to help them board buses to other housing.
"I was very proud to have him as a member of the Seattle Police Department," Liggins said. "We join this job for a reason and rescuing and saving lives is one of them and Marcus made us all proud."
A sentiment Monty Holmes from Athletic Awards, who donates the trophy each month, echoes.
"So many times they're out in the field, they're working hard and they're doing their job," said Holmes. "But no one knows about it and you don't see it in the paper. You don't see it on television and this is a great vehicle for this to happen."
While Michelle says her hero husband won't be home from Guantanamo Bay until December, she says she's not surprised he helped save so many people that day.
"It's always been his dream as a police officer and I think it comes second nature to him. So this is just part of the job and he enjoys it."
