Police video shows Las Cruces officer dragged by fleeing fugitive’s car

UPDATE, March 18: Over a month after a fleeing fugitive was alleged to have dragged an officer with his car, Las Cruces police released a body cam video that shows the incident which resulted in gunfire. You can view it in the player above.

UPDATE, Feb. 8: The man accused of dragging a Las Cruces police officer while fleeing in his car from a traffic stop last week has been ordered held without bond by a judge, prosecutors said Monday.

Joel Orozco, 28, was found by District Court Judge Richard Jaquez to pose a danger to the community, with any release threatening public safety.

UPDATE, Feb. 4: Las Cruces police said Thursday that the man accused of dragging an officer when fleeing in his car from a traffic stop, resulting in an officer-involved shooting on north Solano Drive, has been charged with multiple felonies.

Among the charges filed against Joel Orozco include a third-degree felony count of aggravated battery (deadly weapon) upon a peace officer; a fourth-degree felony count of aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer; a fourth-degree felony count of receipt, transportation or possession of a firearm by a felon; and a misdemeanor count of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.

The LCPD officer injured in the incident remained hospitalized Thursday with a fractured leg. A woman who was a passenger in Orozco’s vehicle who was also injured, remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Orozco was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he is being held without bond.

UPDATE, Feb. 3: Las Cruces police said Wednesday night that an officer-involved shooting earlier in the day stemmed from a traffic stop of wanted felon.

A police spokesman indicated 28-year-old Joel Orozco was in custody after he resisted arrest and fled in his car, dragging and injuring a Las Cruces officer.

"As the vehicle fled and drug the officer, the other Las Cruces police officer on scene fired at least one round from his duty weapon at the vehicle," explained Officer Jason Sauceda, an LCPD spokesman.

The gunshots didn't injure Orozco, who police said they captured a short time later after he abandoned the car and tried to escape on foot into a nearby neighborhood.

The dragged officer and another person who was in Orozco's car were both taken to local hospitals for treatment of unspecified injuries, police said.

ORIGINAL REPORT, Feb. 3: LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- An officer was injured and a suspect was in custody following what police described as an officer-involved shooting near a Las Cruces park.

It happened Wednesday afternoon in the 1900 block of N. Solano Drive and E. Madrid Avenue, which is close to Apodaca Park.

Police said the incident unfolded following a traffic stop in front of the Dna Ana Park apartments, but they did not elaborate.

The hurt officer suffered non-life threatening injuries, but police did not say how he was injured. Authorities also declined to say whether the suspect in custody had been shot.

Investigators had several areas corodoned off with crime scene tape over a 3/10th of a mile stretch of Solano.

At one point, helicopters could be seen and heard circling the area along with a heavy police presence on the ground from LCPD, New Mexico State Police and officers from New Mexico State University.

No further details were available as of Wednesday evening as investigators remained at the shooting scene.