Slain Hatch Police Officer’s body arrives in Las Cruces

The body of slain Hatch Police Officer Jose Chavez was escorted by a group of law enforcement officers from Albuquerque to Las Cruces.

Law enforcement agencies, fire departments and other first-responders along I-25, between Albuquerque to Las Cruces, joined the procession escorting Chavez’s body home.

Motorists showed their respect to the fallen officer by pulling over to the right shoulder, completely off the roadway, and remaining there until the procession passed them by.

The procession started in Albuquerque at 2 p.m. Monday and arrived at its final destination in Las Cruces shortly after 5 p.m.

ABC-7’s Jamie Warren stopped by Jim’s Supermarket where a sign hung from the store that read “rest in Peace Officer Chavez, May God Bless our police officers.”

Inside, there’s a donation box for the Chavez family.

The store’s owner, Slim Whitlock, said Chavez would check on him every single morning when he came to open the shop and made him feel safe.

“I miss him every morning now cause I look up the street and say ‘well, Chavez won’t be coming by this morning he won’t be coming by ever again,'” said Whitlock.

“But I’ll see him again sometime and we will smile and talk about family and I’ll tell him how much I miss him.”

A public funeral for Officer Chavez is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, August 21, 2016 at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center. Doors will open at 1 p.m.

For security purposes, backpacks, suitcases or large bags of any kind will not be allowed inside the Pan Am Center.