Kayenta, Ariz. • Navajo Nation officials say a senior officer with the Kayenta Police Department has died in an off-duty car accident.
Tribal officials say Nelson Martin was killed in a crash on Monday.
His funeral was held Tuesday in Goulding, Utah.
The Navajo Times reported Martin was from Tsébii’ndzisgaii, a community on the Utah side of the Navajo Nation. Martin had been with the police department since 2002.
Officials say Martin was a member of the strategic reaction team and a school resource officer.
They say he worked in collaboration with the Kayenta Unified School District to provide security, prevent crime and create a safe environment for the tribe’s schoolchildren.
The Navajo Nation’s vast reservation spans more than 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Correction, Aug. 23, 2017, 2:05 p.m.: An earlier photo caption transposed the first and last name of Nelson Martin.