Driver charged with shooting New Mexico State Police officer during highway traffic stop

CIBOLA COUNTY, New Mexico — A 28-year-old driver allegedly shot a New Mexico State Police officer during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in Cibola County on Saturday, according to a statement from police.

The suspect, Robert Benjamin Nelson of Scottsdale, Arizona, appeared to fire multiple rounds at the officer’s head as she approached his GMC pickup at about 9:30 a.m., police said.

The officer was struck by the gunfire but was able to return fire, police said. Nelson then allegedly fled the scene on I-40, and the officer got back to her vehicle and chased after him, police said.

After a short pursuit, the suspect allegedly stopped on the highway and exited his vehicle. Officers from Laguna Police Department arrived to help the state police officer, and Nelson was taken into custody without further incident, police said.

Nelson was booked into the Cibola County Detention Center and charged with attempt to commit murder, aggravated battery upon peace officer, shooting from a motor vehicle and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.

Details leading up to the traffic stop and subsequent shooting are under investigation by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau, the statement says.

According to the FBI’s data on Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, a total of 2,116 officers were assaulted by firearms in 2018, and 6.1% of those officers were injured. Also in 2018, 55 law enforcement officers died while in the line of duty from felonious assaults and 51 died in accidents, FBI data found.