The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department, along with New Mexico State Police, the Las Cruces Police Department and several other local law-enforcement agencies, will gather next week to honor officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
The Southern New Mexico Fallen Peace Officers Memorial will take place over two days, beginning with a candlelight vigil Monday, May 8, at 8 p.m. at the Plaza de Las Cruces, 100 North Main Street, in downtown Las Cruces. The location is a first for this time-honored event, formerly held on the front lawn of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department.
A memorial procession will take place Tuesday morning, May 9, at 9 a.m. from the parking lot of the former K-mart location on El Paseo Road. The procession will end at the Las Cruces Convention Center on Union and University, where a memorial service will begin at 10 a.m.
The public is invited to attend all events.
Nearly 50 officers from southern New Mexico and El Paso County will be honored, including those killed in the line of duty and those who died of natural causes during the past year.
Those included in this year’s permanent memorial include Hatch Police Officer Jose Chavez, who was fatally shot last August during a traffic stop, and Alamogordo Police Officer Clint Corvinus, also shot and killed just weeks after Chavez was murdered.
The local event is hosted every year during National Police Week, which is traditionally the second full week in May. Similar events are held simultaneously at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Information from Doña Ana County