WATCH: Family of slain NMSP officer say he ‘proudly wore the badge’ and ‘loved his children’
DEMING, New Mexico -- The family of slain New Mexico State Police Officer Darian Jarrott on Saturday made their first public comments since his death at the hands of a man who authorities described as a "violent criminal" during a traffic stop in Deming earlier this week.
NMSP Chief Robert Thornton stood alongside grieving family members as two of them spoke to the media at the State Police headquarters in Deming.
Gabriella Jarrott, former wife and mother of two of the fallen 28-year-old officer's three small children, told reporters: "Our children have lost their best friend."
"Our hero has fallen," she said, adding that "he will forever be a hero to his children and the community. He wore the badge proudly."
Jarrott's uncle David Tarango, himself an NMSP officer based in Jarrot's nearby hometown of Lordsburg, told reporters that his nephew was a "happy, lovable person" who not only loved his job - but "most of all he loved his children."
Alycia Chavez, Jarrott's fiancée who is expecting his fourth child, didn't speak at the state police news conference but posted an emotional message to social media on Saturday. You can read the post in its entirety below.
Meantime in Jarrott's hometown of Lordsburg, the entire community is grieving alongside his family.
"He was a really loving, kind person. Always with a smile on his face," said Ana Maria Campos, who knew the fallen officer since he was a child and is close with his family.
"How hard it must be for the family. If it's hard for me, and I'm just a friend. It's hurtful, very hurtful," Campos said, adding that Jarrott's sacrifice and legacy will never be forgotten.
"May God bless the Jarrott family. May God give them the strength and the courage to go on. May his name never be forgotten," Campos said.
Maureen Thornock, another friend of the officer's family, described Jarrott's death as taking a personal toll on her too.
"It’s like we’ve lost family," said Thornock, who owns a Lordsburg restaurant that Jarrott’s father manages.
She described most Lordsburg residents as being in shock over Jarrott's slaying in the line of duty.
"The whole town is just devastated," she said. "I don’t think you’ll find anybody that did not know Darian, that does not know the family.”
Jarrott's body was transported back to southern New Mexico late Friday night in a law enforcement procession from the state Medical Investigator's Office in Albuquerque to a Deming funeral home, where funeral arrangements are pending.
(KVIA newsgathering affiliates KOAT and KOB in Albuquerque contributed to this report.)
