Hundreds honor slain Alamogordo police officer

More than 2,000 mourners gathered for the funeral service of a New Mexico police officer who was shot and killed last week.

The funeral for Officer Clint Corvinus on Saturday morning drew hundreds of people to the Tays Center on the New Mexico State University-Alamogordo campus.

Corvinus, who was 33, graduated from high school in the southern New Mexico town.

The Alamogordo Police Department said he is survived by his parents, a girlfriend and daughter.

A procession for him before the funeral stopped in front of the Alamogordo Police Department before proceeding to the Tays Center.

Gov. Susana Martinez and Congressman Steve Pearce were among those who spoke of Corvinus. Martinez, who was speaking at an officer funeral for the second time in less than a month, says Corvinus donned the uniform because there were people in the world who did not respect it.

“Think of him as a man who was willing to give up his life to protect those he loved and even those he didn’t even know,” she said.

Police said a man with three active arrest warrants fatally shot Corvinus during a foot pursuit on Sept. 2.

Police say another officer shot and killed the suspect during the chase.