Las Cruces Police Department

Las Cruces Police Department
Operational structure
Agency executive
  • Jeremy Story, Police Chief
Website
Official website

The Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for protecting the City of Las Cruces, New Mexico. LCPD, established in 1928, currently has an authorized strength of 200 officers and 83 civilian positions; LCPD serves a community of over 100,000. The Las Cruces Police Department is the second largest municipal police department in New Mexico.[1]

The interim chief of police is Miguel Dominguez. In June 2020 he replaced Patrick Gallagher who resigned in the aftermath of an officer killing a citizen.[2]

Organization

The department is organized into a number of divisions and units:[3]

  • Administration
    • Public information office
  • Field operations division
    • Patrol Section (Patrol Section, K-9 Unit, Crisis Intervention Unit, & Street Crimes Unit)
    • Traffic Section (Traffic Investigation, Police Service Aids)
  • Internal affairs
  • Investigative & support division
    • Administrative Support Section
    • Criminal Investigations Section
    • Codes Enforcement and Animal Control Section
    • Community Outreach (TNT Unit, School Resource Unit, & Community Liaison Officer)
  • Metro narcotics is a joint unit of the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office, and New Mexico State Police
  • Research & development

The department runs its own police academy.[4] The course takes five and a half months.[5]

The department is allotted the following billets:

Title Positions Insignia
Chief of Police 1
Deputy Chief 2
Lieutenant 8
Sergeant 23
Police Officer/Detective 157

Equipment

Transportation

The Las Cruces Police uses the following vehicles.

Weapons

Notable events

In February 2020, officer Christopher Smelser killed Antonio Valenzuela during an arrest after a traffic stop. Valenzuela ran from police, who attempted to tase him, eventually subduing Valenzuela on the ground. In a video of the incident, Smelser told Valenzuela, "I'm going to fucking choke you out, bro", and Valenzuela was heard gasping for air. The autopsy ruled that Valenzuela died of "asphyxia injuries due to physical restraint", with the department's police chief stating that Smelser had used a "vascular neck restraint". The autopsy also stated that methamphetamines consumed by Valenzuela also "significantly" contributed to his death.[8]

After the police officer was charged with murder, he was fired. The city agreed to pay over six million dollars to settle the civil side of the matter.[9]

On February 11, 2024, the LCPD suffered their first officer killed in the line of duty when patrol officer Jonah Hernandez was fatally stabbed by Armando "AJ" Silva, a suspect with a criminal record and mental health problems. Silva then tried to attack his cousin Araceli and her boyfriend Issiah Astorga, who were on the scene. Astorga fatally shot Silva in self-defense. The Doña Ana County District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney refused to press charges against Astorga, ruling his killing of Silva as justifiable homicide. Jonah was laid to rest in his hometown of El Paso.

References

  1. ^ "Police Department - Services | City of Las Cruces". las-cruces.org. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  2. ^ "Troubled Las Cruces police gets new interim chief". msn.com. Associated Press. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  3. ^ "Divisions and units". City of Las Cruces. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Madrid, Salina (August 13, 2020). "Five Las Cruces police cadets test positive for COVID-19". KFOX-14. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Madrid, Salina (August 13, 2020). "Five Las Cruces police cadets test positive for COVID-19". KFOX-14. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  6. ^ "Las Cruces Police Department". www.facebook.com. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "Las Cruces Police Department". www.facebook.com. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  8. ^ Stelloh, Tim (June 10, 2020). "Officer on video saying he'll 'choke you out' before man dies is charged with manslaughter". NBC News. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  9. ^ "New Mexico city to pay $6.5M in police chokehold settlement". KOB. Associated Press. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
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