Tag: benji martin jr

Supporters of a Garner man accused of killing a WakeMed police officer called Monday for the hospital’s security-camera footage to be released.

Benji Martin Jr., 29, was arrested and charged with murder Friday after being released from the hospital. He’d spent over a week there after also being shot in the Nov. 8 struggle with Officer Roger Smith, 59, in the WakeMed Garner Healthplex’s emergency department.

Smith, a 14-year veteran of the WakeMed Campus Police Department, was fatally wounded and was laid to rest last week in Clayton. He had worked as a police officer since 1996, spending 16 years with the Knightdale Police Department in addition to his two stints with the WakeMed department.

Few details have been released about the shooting, which occurred just before 9 a.m. when Smith responded to WakeMed staff’s call for security in the emergency department, The N&O previously reported. Martin’s friends told The N&O he was taken to WakeMed that morning for a mental health crisis after immense personal stress, including his fiancee miscarrying one of their twins and his grandmother becoming ill.

While Garner police have described Smith as a “hero whose actions likely prevented further loss of life,” Martin’s loved ones have challenged that narrative, describing the 29-year-old as a gentle soul who spread kindness to others. A GoFundMe for his family had raised almost $14,000 of its $100,000 goal as of Monday afternoon.

Smith’s family is also requesting donations to the 200 Club of Wake County, which helps the family members of first responders killed in the line of duty.

Judge orders suspect to be held without bail

In a brief hearing Monday afternoon, District Court Judge Crystal Grimes ordered Martin to remain in jail without bail and set his next appearance for Dec. 15. Grimes would not entertain a motion from Emilia Beskind, Martin’s defense attorney, to order the state to allow her to see evidence before testing it.

In the motion submitted Monday morning, Beskind wrote that Martin was unarmed and “seeking treatment for mental anguish” at the time of the shooting.

The motion also claims that Beskind has yet to receive any video evidence or physical evidence in the case.

“At this stage, the defense has no access to the evidence that has been collected,” she wrote. “Only the State has seen the video, and it is unclear what tests or analysis the Garner police are referencing when speaking to the media.”

Supporters rally for ‘Justice for Benji’

In a short press conference outside the Wake County Justice Center after the hearing, at least 20 friends, family members and community activists gathered to call for the state to release footage of the shooting. One person carried a “Justice for Benji” sign and led a brief chant of “Justice for Benji.”

“We also have questions,” said the Rev. Greg Drumwright, who is supporting the family. “We want to know how an unarmed, nonviolent individual who has no criminal history … whatsoever can show up at a medical facility in duress, seeking medical attention, and end up in a situation such as this.”

Tamieka Alston-Gibson, Martin’s cousin, issued a statement on Martin’s family’s behalf, describing the 29-year-old as a good-natured man deeply rooted in faith and service.

“He’s the one all of our children run to at our family gatherings — always smiling, always willing to give a lending hand but, most of all, his hugs,” she said. “He has never been in any trouble, and anyone who knows him [knows] he would never harm anyone.”

Alston-Gibson, who described herself as a health care provider, said she questions why WakeMed staff didn’t do more to help her cousin.

“We go to the hospital looking for a safe haven, and it breaks our family’s hearts that we do not feel that Benji was extended the help that he sought,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to see the media try to portray him in a light that is surely not him, but we — his family, his friends and those who love him most — we know the truth.”

Alston-Gibson also extended the family’s condolences to Smith’s loved ones.

Benji Martin Sr., Martin’s father, spoke briefly, adding that his son was “a wonderful person” who had never hurt anyone.

“We sent him to the doctors to get help, and we end up like this, and that’s not fair to him,” he said. “We need to see the video.”

This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 3:23 PM.