Ryan Ross

Ryan Ross helped rescue Daniel Martinez from assault, Sequim, Washington, May 19, 2022. In the early morning, Martinez, 31, a police officer who had stopped a 34-year-old driver on a city street, was walking back toward his patrol car when the man exited his truck, ran to Martinez, and tackled him. In the course of a violent struggle spanning two-and-a-half minutes, the assailant, who was larger than Martinez, punched and kicked the officer, who called for help. The assailant grasped Martinez’s handgun, and Martinez pushed him away and discharged a round that missed the assailant’s shoulder. As the attack continued, a second round discharged from the gun. Ultimately, Martinez and the assailant were tangled on the ground, with Martinez’s right hand, holding the gun, beneath the assailant’s body, along with the assailant’s hands. Driving toward the scene, Ross, 45, city facilities maintenance technician, heard calls for help from another man, who had arrived first to help Martinez, and Ross exited his city vehicle to assist. Responding to the dark scene, an hour before sunrise, Ross restrained the assailant’s legs as the other man held the assailant’s hands, and they shortly received additional help from a nearby resident and a sheriff’s deputy. The assailant, who was taken into custody, subsequently was charged with the murder of his mother shortly before the traffic stop. Martinez was hospitalized for treatment of injuries that included a torn labrum in his shoulder. A prosecutor deemed his use of his gun was justified. Ross was not injured.