LCPD Officers Approved for Duty in Puerto Rico
Six officers of the Las Cruces Police Department have volunteered and will deploy to Puerto Rico to assist with law enforcement duties in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
The officers, who are bilingual in English and Spanish, originally planned to deploy Oct. 6, but received word from the Department of Homeland Security Emergency Management the day before that their deployment had been placed on hold. At the time, DHSEM stated that larger contingents of personnel were needed per agency, and that the LCPD team would be placed in the queue for possible deployment later. LCPD was notified on Nov. 6 that the officers were approved by DHSEM for this latest deployment.
The officers are (top row l-r with years of service) Sgt. Thaddeus Allen (9 years), Sgt. Jaime Quezada (21 years) and officer Manny Soto (9 years). Pictured in bottom row are officers Jose Prado (10 years), Joshua Herrera (9 years) and Charli Velasco (2 years).
“Part of the beauty of our community is that we have a large Spanish-speaking population and our police force has a large percentage of Spanish-speaking officers,” said City Manager Stuart C. Ed. “That places us in a unique position to help Puerto Rico with its request for assistance. I extend my thanks to the six volunteers and their families, Police Chief Jaime Montoya and the entire police department for their willing participation.
The officers are scheduled to fly out on Nov. 10 for a 14-day deployment. They are expected to return to Las Cruces on Nov. 25.
