Funeral services begin for Officer Chavez at Pan American center

A week has passed since Officer Jose Chavez was killed in the line duty.

Several law-enforcement agencies and honor guards will be on hand for Sunday’s ceremonies.

“We lost a good human being. We needed his character and the person he was here on Earth,” said Enrique Maldonado, a longtime friend of Chavez.

Many expressed heartache after Chavez was killed during a traffic stop in Hatch, New Mexico last Friday.

Chavez’s body was escorted 221 miles from Albuquerque, where he was taken for an autopsy, to his home town in Las Cruces.

Businesses in the area accepted donations to support the fallen officer’s family and earlier this week, an honor flag arrived in El Paso from Dallas. It is the same flag that flew above Ground Zero in honor of the police officers and firefighters killed in the September 11 attacks.

On a state level, Governor Susana Martinez expressed her support:

“I ask all New Mexicans to keep his family, especially his two precious little girls in their thoughts and in their prayers. We owe it to Officer Chavez to rally around and support his family,” Martinez said.

Law enforcement will be gathering at Hatch Valley High School beginning at 12:30 p.m.

A spokeswoman for the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office says at this point, only law enforcement is suggested at that event because the roads in the area are not really suited for heavy traffic.

The motorcade will take Chavez through the village of Hatch, then head east down I-25 to Las Cruces between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The motorcade will continue to New Mexico State University’s Pan Am center.

One hundred motorcyclists with the ‘Patriot Guard Riders’ will be roadside along with honor guards who will fire ceremonial shots as the Hearse passes by.

There will be a rolling roadblock on I-25 heading east during the escort from hatch to Las Cruces.

Congressman Steve Pearce and Governor Susana Martinez are expected to attend.