{"id":16957,"date":"2025-10-22T01:32:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T01:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/16957\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T01:32:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T01:32:26","slug":"ex-nfl-running-back-doug-martin-dies-in-oakland-police-custody-sources-say-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/16957\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NFL running back Doug Martin dies in Oakland police custody, sources say"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND \u2014 Doug Martin, a former running back for the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers,\u00a0died while in Oakland police custody<\/a> early Saturday morning, multiple sources close to the investigation told this news organization on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Martin, 36, died at a hospital after being contacted by Oakland police, who were responding to reports of a home break-in just after 4:15 a.m. in East Oakland, the sources said. His cause of death has yet to be determined, and the incident remains under investigation by multiple local law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n

A statement released by Martin\u2019s family asked for \u201cprivacy at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: Details emerge after former NFL star Doug Martin\u2019s death in Oakland police custody<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with great sadness to inform you all that Doug Martin passed away Saturday morning,\u201d the statement read. \u201dCause of death is currently unconfirmed.\u201d When reached Sunday evening, a family member referred back to the statement.<\/p>\n

Born in Oakland and raised in Stockton, Martin spent seven seasons in the NFL. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2012 first round (No. 31 overall) out of Boise State and spent six years with the team before finishing his career with the Oakland Raiders.<\/p>\n

The incident on Saturday morning began when Oakland police were called about person who had broken into a home on the 11000 block of Ettrick Street, in a hills neighborhood near the Oakland Zoo. Police \u201csimultaneously\u201d received notice that the suspected burglar was having \u201ca medical emergency,\u201d according to a statement by the Oakland Police Department.<\/p>\n

A \u201cbrief struggle\u201d ensued when officers contacted the suspected burglar, police said. The person then became unresponsive after being taken into custody, according to Oakland police. After receiving medical aid by paramedics on scene, the person was taken to a hospital, where they later died, the department\u2019s statement said.<\/p>\n

The Alameda County Coroner\u2019s Office has yet to release the name of the person who died. Police who were involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave, following department policy.<\/p>\n

As is customary following in-custody deaths, what happened is being investigated by the Oakland Police Department\u2019s homicide unit, OPD\u2019s internal affairs bureau, the civilian-led Oakland police commission, the Community Police Review Agency and the Alameda County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Martin starred collegiately at Boise State, leaving the school in 2011 as the third-leading rusher in program history. During his four years in Boise after prepping at St. Mary\u2019s-Stockton, he rushed for more than 3,400 yards and 43 touchdowns as the Broncos remained a powerhouse in the Mountain West under coach Chris Peterson.<\/p>\n

His 2012 rookie season in Tampa Bay was his most productive as a pro: Martin rushed for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning his first of two career Pro Bowl appearances. Martin\u2019s true breakout performance was a 251-yard, four-touchdown game in a win over the Raiders at the Coliseum.<\/p>\n

Though his career was marked by flashes of brilliance, including another 1,400-yard rushing season in 2015, it was also marred by injuries and off-field challenges. In 2016, Martin was suspended four games for violating the NFL\u2019s substance abuse policy after testing positive for a banned substance. He later sought treatment and publicly expressed regret, vowing to rebuild his health and reputation.<\/p>\n

After six seasons in Tampa Bay, Martin signed with the Raiders in 2018, rushing for 723 yards and four touchdowns in his return to Northern California.<\/p>\n

Martin retired quietly after the 2018 season with 5,356 yards and 30 touchdowns over seven seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden and unexpected passing of Doug Martin,\u201d the Bucs said in a statement. \u201cFrom his record-setting rookie season in 2012 to his multiple Pro Bowl selections during his six seasons as a Buccaneer, Doug made a lasting impact on our franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back at Martin\u2019s high school in Stockton, his coach still keeps a picture of him at his desk from an award ceremony about 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

Tony Franks, who coached Martin at St. Mary\u2019s High School in Stockton, recalled a \u201cterrific young man,\u201d who had \u201ca happy-go-lucky free spirit\u201d and \u201cworked very hard to make the most of the gifts he was given.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s running style was prototypical for the time \u2014 \u201cpowerful, compact, explosive,\u201d he said, yet nimble enough to \u201cchange direction on a dime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had such natural strength, leg strength, body strength,\u201d Franks said. \u201cThe force he could create by accelerating was just tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called the circumstances of Martin\u2019s death \u201cshocking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is such a tragic loss,\u201d Franks said. \u201cOur prayers go out to his family and his teammates and his friends, and he had a bunch of them. There are a lot of people who are really grieving tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check back for updates to this developing story.<\/p>\n

Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 19, 2025 at 6:07 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND \u2014 Doug Martin, a former running back for the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers,\u00a0died while in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,184,861,7,8,723,138,332,1529,9858,181,100,752,143,145,144,407,408,14661,127],"class_list":["post-16957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-bay-area-crime","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-crime","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-east-bay","tag-east-bay-crime","tag-east-oakland","tag-latest-headlines","tag-news","tag-nfl","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-oakland-police-department","tag-police-accountability","tag-police-violence","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}