Los Angeles Police Department officers, family and friends attended the funeral of Officer Valentin Martinez, the agency’s first sworn employee to die of complications from COVID-19. A memory service was held Thursday at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills’ Hall of Liberty. Martinez, 45, was a 13-year veteran of the LAPD and is presumed to have contracted the coronavirus while on duty. He he died on July 24, leaving behind his mother, Maria Martinez, his siblings and his domestic partner, Megan Flynn, who is pregnant with their twins. A Val Martinez Memorial Fund has been established for the family.
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