The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, along with New Mexico State Police, the Las Cruces Police Department and several other local law-enforcement agencies will gather Monday 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 12, at 8 p.m. on the front lawn of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office at 845 N. Motel Boulevard in Las Cruces.
A memorial procession will take place the following morning at 9 a.m. Tuesday from the parking lot of the former K-mart location on El Paseo Road to the Las Cruces Convention Center, where a memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. The public is invited to attend all events.
Nearly 40 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, including Doña Ana County Sheriff Juan Hernandez, former Doña Ana County Detention Center administrator Alfonso Solis, Reserve Sergeant Steven Sanders, Officers Noel Reyes-Mendez and Jesus Antonio Felix of the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility, Lieutenant John Savage of the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility, Officer Lonnie Bray, Sr. of the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility, Officer Brian Goodman of the City of Las Cruces Codes Enforcement Division and Officer Sylvester Aguirre of the City of Las Cruces Codes Enforcement Division.
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.