Las Cruces community bids its former police chief farewell: “He was a rock”

The law enforcement community in Las Cruces bid farewell to former LCPD chief Jaime Montoya, laid to rest after he passed away on January 3, 2018.

A funeral mass was held at the Las Cruces Cathedral Friday morning. Montoya’s casket was then escorted by the same police officers he once he led to his final resting place at the Doña Ana Cemetery.

Montoya, 52, spent half his life serving with the Las Cruces Police Department. In 2017, he retired after spending 26 years with the department. Montoya spent the past year battling cancer.

“I didn’t know him as a police officer, that’s not the face he showed me. He showed me his humanity, his love of his family,” said Mary Rosner, a District Court Judge.

His love of the service was a pillar in the justice system to those who came before him.

“He was a rock, he was a rock. He helped us through some very difficult times, someone I knew I could always count on,” said Richard Williams, a Former Las Cruces Police Chief who had Montoya as his deputy.

While Montoya, described as loyal, inspired that same loyalty in others, including the dozens of uniformed officers showed up to his funeral. It also seems that effect went well beyond those in blue.

Dispatchers gave Montoya a final call over the radio, just as Montoya did to them when he retired

“He did recognize MVDA and it’s something that we’re hardly recognized for, and we do appreciate him for his time in service,” said Alberto Flores with the Mesilla Valley Dispatch Authority.

Montoya is survived by his parents, wife, and two daughters.