Dona Ana County Commissioners honor slain Hatch Officer Jose Chavez

Dona Ana County Commissioners Tuesday approved a resolution proclaiming August 21 through the 27th as Officer Jose Chavez Memorial week.

Chavez’s death has brought people from all over the country together. Tuesday, Commissioners and elected officials put political differences aside and thanked one another.

“It means a lot when they see you all coming together and I just want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart thank you all,” Dona Ana County Sheriff Kiki Vigil said.

Commissioner Ben Rawson says he was on a ride along with a deputy when news of Chavez’s death broke.

“It sure gave me a different perspective, not just reading it in the paper or hearing about it,” Rawson said.

Chairman Wayne Hancock said the commission’s views on law enforcement should not be misunderstood.

“There has been, for quite a long time now, an effort to depict the commission as being against law enforcement because we have the fiscal responsibility to deal with the public’s money,” Hancock said. “We had to do that in a prudent manner. There were those who wanted to articulate that as being against law enforcement and that was never the case.”

Anyone who wishes to donate to the slain officer’s family is asked to make checks payable to the Officer Jose Ismael Chavez Memorial Fund.