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, badge #989, was brutally and fatally stabbed by Armando "AJ" Silva, a suspect with a criminal record and mental health problems, who was then in turn shot and killed by an armed civilian, Issiah Astorga, when he tried to attack Astorga and his girlfriend, Araceli, who was actually Silva's cousin.
The incident occurred after Astorga and Araceli noticed Silva acting erratically while in his makeshift campsite in a car park of the Tip Top Trailer rental warehouse where Astorga worked. After filming him for a bit, they called 911, and Jonah responded as the only officer available as other officers were dealing with the usual Super Bowl Sunday complaints. As he waited to turn around at the traffic light to pull up to the business, Jonah noticed Silva as he walked around the main office building at the front of the lot, seen on the business' CCTV surveillance cameras. Silva returned to his sleeping bag under the car park and waited there as Jonah pulled up to the gate, stepped out of his cruiser, and approached him, as Silva was trespassing on private property, regardless of his homeless status. Silva initially acted cooperative, but when Jonah asked if he was the one who called 911, Silva denied doing such a thing, before suddenly drawing a large kitchen knife from his sleeve and lunging for Jonah. Caught off-guard, Jonah panicked and tried to flee, but tripped and fell, and Silva seized the moment and stabbed Jonah repeatedly, with the entire assault being captured by Jonah's Axon body camera and the CCTV cameras. Witnessing what happened, Astorga grabbed his personal sidearm, a SIG Sauer P320 9-millimeter pistol, and rushed to Jonah's aid. When Silva saw him, he approached Astorga with aggressive intent, challenging him as to if he wants to get stabbed as well, and in self-defense, Astorga fired three times at Silva, causing him to collapse to the ground. When Silva refused Astorga's orders to drop the knife and tried to get up, Astorga fired a fourth and fatal shot, and Silva fell lifeless. In the meantime, Jonah's stab wounds were so severe, he was just bleeding profusely, indicating his carotid artery and/or jugular vein had been severed by one of the stab wounds, the sound of it being caught on his body camera as he bled to death.
After shooting Silva and leaving him for dead, Astorga attempted to tend to Jonah as Araceli attempted to call 911 to report what happened after Jonah showed up. Another Good Samaritan soon arrived to assist, who put in the "Officer Down" call on Jonah's radio to summon backup to their location, who later identified himself to the LCPD as a former federal lawman and also carried his personal sidearm, which he had them take and place back in his car. One of the first officers to respond to Jonah's location upon hearing the emergency call was Jonah's relative, patrol officer Carlos Hernandez, badge #988, who was in the middle of a traffic stop when he heard the "Officer Down" and cut the stop short before rushing to the scene. LCPD K-9 Officer Appelzoller arrived immediately after Carlos and moved to disarm and handcuff the already deceased Silva, aided by Officer Montoya as he kept going back and forth between helping Jonah and arresting and treating Silva. It was when they were turning Silva over to cuff and treat his gunshot wounds that Araceli recognized him and broke down sobbing in horror as Astorga apologized since Silva left him no choice but to shoot. Officer Hanes recovered Astorga's pistol, removed the magazine, and ejected the round in the chamber before placing it back in the magazine and leaving both the gun and magazine where they could be easily found for the investigation as evidence. Carlos remained with Jonah all the way to MountainView Regional Medical Center until he was declared deceased in the ER and broke down crying, devastated over the death of his brother officer. Other officers who responded to the scene, such as Officers Singh and Adler, also broke down in tears over the devastation of losing Jonah, while Sergeants Duran and Renteria attempted to control the scene as patrol supervisors. New Mexico State Police and Doña Ana County Sheriff's Department also arrived to secure and investigate the scene with LCPD. Another person of interest that was wandering around behind the business in the open field that was recorded on the CCTV earlier being on the property was also detained, and taken in due to outstanding warrants from burglary charges not related to the current investigation.
Despite best efforts by Astorga, the other civilians, LCPD, and first responders, including members of the Las Cruces Fire Department (LCFD) and AMR, Jonah succumbed to his wounds and was pronounced dead at the hospital after a final check of his vitals and wounds by the attending ER doctor. Silva also died of his gunshot wounds. LCPD Chief of Police Jeremy Story arrived to comfort his officers, and later read a statement from Astorga regarding what happened and how he wished he could go back and save Jonah from his fate. After reviewing all the evidence regarding the event, including the video footage, the Doña Ana County District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney refused to press charges against Astorga, ruling his killing of Silva as justifiable homicide in self-defense to save his own life, that of Araceli, and Jonah. Astorga was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital due to biohazard contamination from Jonah's blood that got on his hands and arms while trying to stop the bleeding, but was given a clean bill of health. Araceli was also treated on scene and taken with Astorga to the hospital before being discharged. Silva's father came to the LCPD headquarters the following day to speak with one of the detectives that investigated the scene, Detective Oscar Magallanes, offering his condolences over Jonah's death, with Magallanes also offering his and the LCPD's condolences over Silva's death.
Jonah was laid to rest in his hometown of El Paso with final salutes from his department and other agencies that came to pay their last respects and support his wife and children, including federal lawmen from the United States Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, county sheriffs, and officers from as far away as Chicago and New York City, along with fire and EMS services.
