Senior Petaluma Police Sergeant Retires After 24 Years

From Petaluma PD: The Petaluma Police Department is proud to formally announce the service retirement of Senior Sergeant Martin D. Frye. The Son of the late Bill D. Frye, a United States Marine and Deputy Sheriff for Marin County (1971-1985), Sergeant Frye has proudly served this community for 24 years. Sergeant Frye has not only been a kind and helpful public servant to this community, he has devoted his life to helping his friends, co-workers, and those from our community with the greatest need. While Sergeant Frye will be enjoying his well-deserved retirement, he leaves the Department with a legacy of leadership, professionalism, and selfless service to others. After a successful career in the construction industry, Sergeant Frye joined the Petaluma Police Department and took the oath of office for peace officer on September 24, 1996. He has held his responsibility to the public’s trust in highest regard while serving with distinction in a variety of assignments including patrol, bicycle patrol, special weapons and tactics (SWAT), narcotics, gangs, alcohol control and enforcement, fugitive apprehension, peer support, canine interdiction, recruitment, training, and DUI enforcement.

As a peace officer, he demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and teamwork. His strong work ethic remains unmatched today. Early in his career he was selected to join the SWAT team in 1997 and the Street Crimes Team in 2000 as a detective. In that assignment, he targeted neighborhood nuisances, crime and drug houses, and known offenders who were victimizing the community. He has excelled in every assignment he has ever been given and embraced community policing and problem solving. When there was a significant public safety problem, Officer Frye could always be counted on to find a solution. He was responsible for eradicating crime from neighborhoods and businesses in our community through his ability to create strong relationships with members of the community who provided valuable leads and information to solve crime and apprehend wanted fugitives. He collaborated with community partners and other City Departments to address crime and traffic safety. Petaluma Police Department NEWS RELEASE As a member of the Gang Enforcement Team, he was responsible for preventing gang members from taking control in our city. His aggressive and proactive nature sent a strong message to criminal street gang members to avoid Petaluma. He worked closely with the large number of licensed alcohol establishments in town to be sure they operated safely and within the laws and local regulations. Those that did not comply or those who disturbed the peace, impacted police services, or jeopardized public safety were dealt with swiftly to bring them back into compliance. His accomplishments in public safety brought hundreds of commendations and numerous awards and recognition. He was nominated and received numerous employee of the quarter awards by the Department. In 2002 he was selected as the Petaluma Police Officer of the Year. He was also selected by the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chief’s Association as the 2002 Sonoma County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, recognition that would result in him receiving a Distinguished Service Medal. Detective Frye was directly involved and responsible for the success of our Department’s enforcement efforts to catch sexual predators during the NBC To Catch a Predator Operation in 2006. Street Crimes Detective Frye was promoted to Sergeant on February 2, 2007 and returned to patrol to supervise a new patrol team. Using his tactical and investigative skills, coupled with his strong work ethic, he pushed everyone under his command to better themselves. He provided training and guidance to new officers and helped veteran officers expand their skills and expertise. As a sergeant, he used his leadership skills to supervise the SWAT Team and the Gang Enforcement Team in addition to his patrol team responsibilities. He led numerous successful SWAT missions, gang enforcement operations, and some of the most productive patrol teams in the Department’s history addressing crime and traffic safety. In April of 2012, Sergeant Frye and his patrol team responded to a domestic violence homicide in downtown Petaluma. The victim had been shot and was down on the ground. Under threat of gunfire, Sergeant Frye risked his own life to rescue the victim. His heroic and selfless act, along with his leadership during the critical incident resulted in Sergeant Frye being awarded the Medal of Bravery that same year. In October of 2015, Sergeant Frye was selected as the Petaluma Policing Sergeant in charge of community policing, mental health, homelessness, police personnel recruitment and hiring, community engagement and volunteer services that included Volunteers in Police Service, Reserve Community Service Officers, Chaplain’s, Explorers and Police Interns from Sonoma State University. He supervised community engagement through the Junior Police Camp, Community Academy, Spanish Language Community Academy, the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Petaluma classes, and numerous community presentations on mental health, crime prevention for seniors, and homelessness. As the Petaluma Policing Sergeant, Marty Frye continued to achieve success through his teams. He supervised the Sober Circle Pilot Project to help serial inebriates make the transition to treatment and recovery with a private/public partnership of community partners that included COTS, Petaluma Healthcare District, and local healthcare organizations.

He successfully manages the first ever Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) partially funded by Cal Recycle to address the environmental impacts of homeless encampments and cleanup. Under his leadership, HOST Officers Ryan DeBaeke and Zilverio Rivera brought caring and compassionate services first to the shelterless population before using traditional law enforcement. The HOST team abated 123 encampments out of 750 surveyed. More than 156 tons of garbage and hazardous waste was removed from waterways, parks, public and open spaces in Petaluma. The HOST Program became a model for agencies across the country. Most recently as the Department continues to face some of the most significant staffing challenges in our history, Sergeant Frye has supervised the recruitment and hiring of all positions in the Department as well as assisting with background investigations for other City Departments. He has done an outstanding job in a difficult job market for qualified police officers and civilian professional staff needed to keep the Department delivering critical police services. Throughout his career he has always been the first to sign up to work overtime, support a local charitable projects to help the less fortunate, or lend a helping hand to a fellow brother or sister in our profession. When Petaluma Little League was the victim of a burglary, he organized a fundraising effort to replace the stolen equipment so the kids could continue play baseball. When a local resident and veteran could no longer keep up with maintenance of his home and property, Sergeant Frye was the first to apply his construction knowledge to return his home to a safe and habitable dwelling. Whether he was supporting the Special Olympics, the DUI education campaign in local schools called Every 15 Minutes, Christmas in April, Cruisin the Blvd Car Show, the Petaluma Police Officer Tom Lavezzoli memorial motorcycle ride, annual police vs fire softball game, or a city sponsored employee event, Sergeant Frye was always there to help set-up, cook, clean, and help any way he could. Sergeant Frye has truly demonstrated the art of leadership by positively influencing everyone he contacts. He has truly embraced our mission of working with our community to provide professional police services. He has exemplified our performance principles of professionalism, leadership, teamwork, organizational excellence, community, and a winning attitude. His absence in our organization will be felt by everyone. Sergeant Frye’s last day will be this Thursday, February 13, 2020. Please join me in thanking Senior Sergeant Martin D. Frye and his family for his service to our community, the City of Petaluma, and our profession and congratulating him on a well-deserved retirement.

The press release was produced by Petaluma PD . The views are the author's own.