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Never Forget
Officer Jonah Hernandez L989
EOW: February 11, 2024
His Death Will Not Be In VainA Las Cruces Digest Report
Source: City of Las Cruces
This is the fourth installment reporting on the Town Hall Meeting held at City Hall on January 23, 2025.
Previous Installments:
- Part II: Latest Crime Numbers
- Part III: Staffing, Ordinances and Legal Obstacles
- Part IV: Juvenile Justice and Machine Guns
The YouTube recording of the Town Hall is available to watch, below.
Officer Jonah Hernandez
Las Cruces Police Chief Story wrapped up his 45-minute presentation by returning to what has been driving motivation and rallying point for enacting needed reforms, Officer Johah Hernandez’s “End of Watch”.
For those who may be unaware, Officer Johah Hernandez was violently murdered while performing what should have been a routine response to a trespassing call–the kind of call that happens over and over again in the current environment of the catch and release of the “non-competent”. Officer Hernandez encountered one of the forsaken at a star-crossed moment resulting in both the violent murder of a police officer compassionately carrying out his duty, as well as the violent death of his murderer.
Officer Jonah Hernandez’s “End of Watch” on February 11, 2024, remains the bright spotlight by which Chief Story and those advocating for reform brightly illuminate a path out of the darkness in which our broader community finds itself.
Never Forget
Officer Jonah Hernandez L989
EOW: February 11, 2024
His Death Will Not Be In Vain
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Community Questions and Responses
Chief Story opened the floor for questions, and requested that following questions, citizens provide personal stories relating their personal experiences with crime in Las Cruces. The intent was to embellish the bleak statistics presented with personal stories of constituents with which to encourage lawmakers, now in Santa Fe, to enact reforms to address the challenges our broader community is facing.
On Topic Questions
The first question asked was, “What happened to all the resources [for kids and mental health resources]?” Chief Story responded bluntly: “I don’t know what happened. We used to have some, but now we don’t.”
When asked how the officers of LCPD keep “rolling the ball up the hill” in what appears to be a futile effort to address crime, Chief Story admitted his confidence goes up and down, but ultimately, officers can do what’s in their power and continue doing their job. “Every day [criminal defendants] are in jail is a day they are not out on the street.” Basically, if a repeat offender is going to be released the next day, at least they are off the street for the brief amount of time they do spend in jail. Chief Story added, “the second we stop [doing our job], we’ve given up, and we can’t do that.”
Other questions were asked about the role of the Park Rangers and how the public has access to law enforcement resources, all of which were addressed and answered with details of the assets becoming available over then next year as LCPD works toward full staffing.
The question was posed regarding the reasons why a non-competent criminal defendant is not deemed “dangerous” when there are violent offenses being charged. Chief Story indicated he did not know why, other than the common sense understanding of “dangerous” does not comport with the legal definition of “dangerous”.
Question On Settlements Related to Officer-Involved Shootings
Settlements resulting from officer-involved shootings were raised. In short, Chief Story reiterated a statement recently made in the wake of civil litigation resulting in no liability on the part of the city or police department. He acknowledged officer-involved shootings, nationwide, adding, “I wish we could say we could eliminate all officer-involved shootings, but the reality is that we’re probably a long way from that happening because ultimately the [officers] have to keep [themselves] safe.” Regarding one recent case where the city and police department were held liable, Chief Story reminded those in attendance that the police department took accountability and prosecuted the case against the officer. “There’s nothing I can say to justify or minimize [the Gomez] case. Now there are other cases I will back the officer 100%.”
“When the officer is wrong, there is accountability… On the flip side, when they do their job, we are going to back them all the way.”
Questions About Recent Federal Immigration Enforcement Actions
A question was asked about the position of the Las Cruces Police department on instances where Federal Prosecution and Law Enforcement “intersects” with local law enforcement in light of recent guidelines published by New Mexico Attorney General, Raúl Torrez.
Chief Story had the following response:
“I’m guessing you are asking specific to immigration enforcement. I’ve said this in other venues and I’ll say it here tonight. The policy of LCPD, and this has been the policy since I started, so this isn’t anything that’s new, is that we do not get involved in immigration matters. We have authority with State and Local ordinances. We do not have authority to enforce Federal Law. And so, it’s never been common practice for officers to ask, or inquire about immigration status. Now, that being said, we will not interfere with the Federal Agencies doing their job. And so, that is not our job. We will continue to fight the crime, the State and Local crimes that are affecting Las Cruces. There’s obviously plenty of them, as I’ve highlighted tonight. We don’t even have the staff do that as I would like. But we also can’t interfere with them doing their job.”
Other related questions asked:
What will LCPD do to protect immigrants/undocumented Las Crucens from ICE?
“We don’t take part in any immigration enforcement or actions. We also cannot do anything to interfere with them doing their job as Federal Agents.”
Will LCPD collaborate with ICE or DHS in terms of data collection for deportations?
“No, we don’t provide data on immigration status. Quite frankly we don’t have it. We don’t ask it. If you were to ask me, out of all these people I’ve just showed you, are any of them people who are in the country illegally, I would have no clue because that’s not something we track or ask or have any way of knowing. We can’t provide the data we don’t have.”
Comments
Chief Story asked for brief stories regarding their experience with crime, but the opportunity was used for an airing of many different subjects. Stories ranged from park encounters with homeless individuals in park and being “approached” when simply going out to engage in normal activities. It feels unsafe to do business on certain streets, and other places, without being “approached”. Many commented about how the city has changed. Stories were relayed about cars being stolen, and the upheaval caused to the lives of those who have had cars stolen. It is a cost factor when victims suffer the consequences of crime, but the perpetrators escape any accountability. Several stories recounted issues involving children and the use of our local parks. A local home builder claimed $90,000 lost due to theft, and furthermore, lost sales of homes due to the appearance of the city. Many other stories were told, and Las Cruces Digest encourages you to watch the YouTube link, below.
“This is not the city I grew up in, anymore,” one attendee commented.
Alternatives Presented
A couple of residents encouraged approaches other than incarceration. The experiences relayed were sympathetic to the unhoused and those dealing with drug or mental health issues. Some conveyed stories of mistrust of law enforcement. Chief Story agreed that a need for a “holistic” approach exists, but added, “once we have kids that are shooting each other, and others, we have failed. The goal is to not get to [a point where incarceration is the only option], but we are left with very few options at that point.”
When pressed on building trust of the police force, Chief Story stated, “I don’t know that there could be more accountability at this point. No matter what we do there will be police officers who make the wrong decisions and there should be accountability. I believe wholeheartedly that there is.”
Chief Story concluded the Town Hall meeting with a plea to contact legislators and “tell them your stories”.
Senators
- Joseph Cervantes (District 31)
joseph.cervantes@nmlegis.gov - James Townsend (District 34)
townsend@pvtn.com - Crystal Diamond Brantley (District 35)
crystal@diamondfornm.com - Jeff Steinborn (District 36)
jeff.steinborn@nmlegis.gov - William “Bill” Soules (District 37)
bill.soules@hotmail.com - Carrie Hamblen (District 38)
carrie.hamblen@nmlegis.gov
Representatives
- Micaela Lara Cadena (District 33)
micaela.cadena@nmlegis.gov - Raymundo “Ray” Lara (District 34)
rayfordistrict34@gmail.com - Angelica Rubio (District 35)
angelica@rubionm35.com - Nathan Small (District 36)
nathan.small@nmlegis.gov - Joanne Ferrary (District 37)
ferraryrep37@gmail.com - Rebecca Dow (District 38)
rebecca@dowforhouse.com - Doreen Gallegos (District 52)
doreen@doreengallegos.com - Sarah Silva (District 53)
sarah.silva@nmlegis.gov
