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Navajo Nation police officer from Utah dies in car accident

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.