Friends, residents of Hatch, mourn loss of Officer Jose Chavez

The village of Hatch is mourning the loss of officer Jose Chavez.

Chavez was shot and later died after making a traffic stop Friday afternoon.

On Sunday, the doors of the Hatch police department remained open. Inside there were candles, flowers and a sign that read “rest in peace our hero”.

Residents ABC-7 spoke with in Hatch were emotional and saddened by the loss.

Friends of Chavez said he was more than a hero, he was born to be a police officer and he died doing what he loved.

Enrique Maldonado said he was best friends with Chavez for over 20 years.

“He was one of the first friends I met when I first moved here from California and from day one from when we hung out we were inseparable through our teenage years to our twenties,” Maldonado said. “We did everything together.”

Maldonado came to drop off flowers at a memorial Sunday. There were balloons, a Spider-Man hat and candles on the side of the road. An American flag read “thank you officer Chavez for your protection”. Numerous families stopped by to show their respect. Some said a quick prayer.

Just down the road there was another sign of remembrance. A Hatch police car covered in flowers.

“It’s like losing a brother, it’s really hard even though you don’t know him it’s something that just hurts from inside it’s really hard on all of us,” Sergio Maldonado, a Carlsbad police officer said, as he looked at the memorial.

The police chief of Hatch told ABC-7 Chavez was a great officer, an incredible parent to his children and was always happy and smiling.