Officer death marked end of motorcycle patrol, founded to stop 'mania' of 20 mph speeders

GRAND FORKS — Sixty years ago the Grand Forks Police Department lost its first officer on duty. Robert D. Martin is one of two officers who have died in the line of duty with the GFPD. He was 27 years old. I remember that night when Robert slid under a car on University Avenue, former Mayor Pat Owens told police in 1999. That memory always sticks in my mind when I think of you and the dangers you face. Martin had just married Arlene Buchweitz a year prior and was only two years into his job at GFPD. He had spent a total six years working in law enforcement, first in Williston, North Dakota, then in Grand Forks. The crash At 10:15 p.m., Oct. 12, 1966, Martin was driving 25 mph on his motorcycle going east on Second Avenue North. A pickup truck trailed behind him while William Oas came toward him. Oas made a left turn into his driveway across the motorcycle's path, leading to the crash. He came out of nowhere — all of a sudden he was in front of me, Oas repo