Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Published on October 04, 2024

Captain Martinez has been a member of the Culver City Police Department since June 2003. Born in El Salvador and raised in Los Angeles, Captain Martinez graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1998. Growing up just outside Culver City near the University of Southern California, Culver City was a city Captain Martinez visited often growing up. While his mother learned English at Culver City Adult School, a young Captain Martinez would pass the time while playing basketball at Veteran’s Park with his brother while she was in class. Over the years, he became very familiar with the City and applied to the Culver City Police Department while attending West Los Angeles College. Captain Martinez was motivated and always aspired to join the Department as a Police Officer to give back to the community.

During his career as a police officer, he has worked in Patrol, as a Field Training Officer, Crime Impact Team Detective, Personnel & Training Detective, and an Investigator with the LA IMPACT Narcotics Task Force. He served as a Patrol Sergeant and Task Force Sergeant and was the inaugural Special Enforcement Team Sergeant. Continuing to rise through the ranks, he served as a Patrol Watch Commander and Special Operations Lieutenant and worked as the Professional Standards Unit Lieutenant. As a Captain, Martinez currently serves as the Patrol Bureau Commander and oversees the Special Operations Bureau.

Captain Martinez holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a master’s in public administration from National University, and a second master’s degree from the University of San Diego in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership. A proud graduate of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute Class #424, the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Point Leadership Program, the California Police Chiefs’ Executive Leadership Institute, POST-California Command College Class #70, and most recently, the FBI National Academy, Session #290, Captain Martinez is dedicated to professional development and growth.

When asked what Hispanic Heritage Month means to him, Captain Martinez shared, “My family and I fled war-torn El Salvador in 1983 and settled in Los Angeles. I have gone back to my home country several times over the last four decades and am proud of my heritage and where I came from. I hold dear the culture and values I inherited from my parents and take pride in being able to pass them on to my 1st generation American-born children so that they never forget their heritage. I am forever grateful and appreciative of the sacrifice my parents made to uproot their whole lives to move our family to the United States to give us better opportunities in life. I am a proud American who will never forget my Salvadoran roots.”