After a nearly two-year battle with a rare cancer, former Little Flock Police Chief Jesse Martinez died Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Martinez, 48, who served the Little Flock Police Department for 23 years, was chief of police for nine years and worked closely with area law enforcement officers.
"When I was with the Benton County Sheriff's Office, I worked with Chief Martinez on occasion, but I worked with him closer when I became the chief in Pea Ridge," said Pea Ridge Chief Lynn Hahn.
"As a neighboring agency, we often leaned on each other for assistance. I knew Chief Martinez as a very knowledgeable, hard-working, and well-respected police chief. He will be missed," Hahn said.
Little Flock Mayor Jeff Van Sickler said, "The passing of our former chief of police, Jesse Martinez, brings with it heavy hearts and an array of mixed emotions. On one hand we are deeply saddened he is gone. On the other, we are thankful he is no longer suffering.
"Jesse served our city proudly for 23 years, the last nine of which he spent as our police chief, before resigning in 2020 due to his health.
"I cannot presume to know the extent to which he impacted not only our own Police Department but the entire police community. It's probably safe to say that Jesse was an icon to many. He will be greatly missed," Van Sickler said.
A former Marine, Martinez joined the Little Flock Police Department in the spring of 1997, first as a part-time officer, then becoming a full-time officer later that year. He became chief of police in 2011.
During his tenure at the Little Flock Police Department, Martinez served on the Benton County Joint Drug Task Force and the Child Abduction Response Team, became a Law Enforcement Instructor, served on the Board of Directors at the Children's Advocacy Center in Little Flock, was a member of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police (AACP), holding the position of Northwest Regional Vice President in 2019, and was a member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP).
See page 3A for his obituary.