Lieutenant Martin E. Webb

Lieutenant Martin E. Webb 
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 On this day in Baltimore Police History 1 August 1971, we lost our brother to a line of duty drowning based on the following:

Article from the Police Newsletter from August 1971

On Sunday evening, the 1^st of August, a freak summer storm of tropical intensity hit the northern and northeastern sections of Baltimore City and County. At least sixteen persons died as a result of the storm and the flash flooding caused by it. Lieutenant Martin E. Webb of the Southern District was one of those victims. Baltimore County Police discovered his automobile the following morning. All of the vehicle’s doors were open. No trace was found of the Lieutenant. Later, witnesses reported that they had seen the Lieutenant park and leave his vehicle in a heroic, successful attempt to rescue a woman trapped inside her overturned automobile. The Lieutenant was last seen as he was swept away by the intensity of the floodwaters that surrounded him. A seventeen-year veteran of the Department, Martin Webb had been promoted to Lieutenant in March of this year. Prior to his assignment in the Southern District he had been assigned to the Laboratory Division. He had also served in the Central District and in the Motorized Section of the Traffic Division. The Lieutenant’s body was recovered on Tuesday, August 3^rd, in Kahler’s Run, approximately one half mile away from where he had rescued the woman. For two days before the discovery, Lieutenant Donald Sutton had twelve off-duty Southern District Patrolmen in a futile attempt to locate him. The Lieutenant is survived by his widow, Frances, and their two children. Lieutenant Webb did not hesitate to risk his life in order to save the life of another. His tragic death was the direct result of the compassion and concern he held for his fellow man, a dedication commensurate with the esteem in which his memory will forever be held.

1. WEBB RITES SET TOMORROW
   The Sun (1837-1989); Aug 6, 1971; pg. A7
2. WEBB RITES
   SET TOMORROW

Storm Victim Was Member of Police Force 17 Years

Funeral services for Lt. Martin E. Webb, of the Baltimore Police Department, will be held at 9 A.M. tomorrow at the Bernard Dabrowski funeral establishment, 2818 East Baltimore, Street. He was 43.

Lieutenant Webb died Sunday in the heavy rains that inundated Eastern Baltimore County.

His car was found behind the Ritz Tavern in Rosedale with all its doors open. Policemen who knew him guessed that he was drowned in Red House Run trying to help someone. His body was recovered Tuesday.

Born in Baltimore, he served in the Navy at the end of World War II and as a radio operator in the Marine Corps during the Korean War.

In between the fighting, he got an associate in arts degree in business administration from William and Mary College.

He joined the Police Department in 1954 and attended a number of seminars and special programs on law enforcement. He was promoted to sergeant in 1965 and to lieutenant this past March. At that time he was transferred from the crime laboratory to the Southern district.

Survivors include his wife, the former Frances Kowalewski; two stet-sons, Patrick Webster, serving in Vietnam with the Army, and Charles Webster, of Baltimore, and a sister, Mrs. Helen McDermett, of Baltimore.

13 Killed, Others Missing As Storm Lashes State

8 Aug 1971

13 Killed, Others Missing
As Storm Lashes State
At least 13 persons were killed and an unknown number reported missing in the torrential waters from thunder storms that flooded the region Sunday night.

The downpour washed out or flooded hundreds of streets, left some 41.000 persons without electric power, 10,000 telephone subscribers without service and produced a barrage or emergency calls that jammed the switchboards of city and county police and fire departments. The city Fire Department received some 200 calls during the night reporting flooding’s, dangerous erosion and malfunctioning traffic signal. The heaviest rainfall by late Sunday was registered in Parkville a total of 10.32 inches for the weekend. Baltimore's weekend total was 7.5 inches.

In White Marsh a creek known as White Marsh Run overflowed and knocked out a 30-yard section of a four lane bridge on Belair road. And about 100 person in the same area were forced to evacuate their homes when an 8-inch gas main burst from flooding. The bodies of four mute flood victims were recovered Tuesday in the vicinity of Route 40 and the Gunpowder River, where eight persons were swept into the flooded river and drowned Sunday night.The fourth body, recovered in a stream near Chesaco and Old Philadelphia roads, was identified as that of Lt. Martin E. Webb, a Southern District policeman whose empty car was found in the same area after Sunday’s storm.

At least four persons were still missing and presumed drowned in the Gunpowder River and in the flood-swollen Loch Raven Reservoir. The second wave of severe thunderstorms in 48 hours struck Maryland Tuesday night from Baltimore county to Montgomery county, flooding roads and forcing the evacuation of about persons in Laurel. As the locks at two dams were opened, the Patuxent River overflowed its banks, washed over one bridge on U.S. l, flooded the Laurel Racetrack and closed Route 198 there, and threatened riverside residences and businesses in Laurel

We his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department will not let him be forgotten – RIP Lieutenant Martin Webb, may God Bless You - For your service "Honored" the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Police Department" #BPDNeverForget

 

More details

Name	Description
End of Watch	9 August, 1971
City, St.	Baltimore, Md
Panel Number	39-E: 17
Cause of Death	Drowning
District Worked	Southern

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