SENATE MEMORIAL 8

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Jay C. Block

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

HONORING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN NEW MEXICO.

 

     WHEREAS, more than eight hundred thousand law enforcement officers in the United States risk their lives daily to serve and protect their communities, including approximately four thousand six hundred law enforcement officers in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, there are now more than twenty-four thousand names on the walls of the national law enforcement officers memorial, reflecting the names of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in the United States since 1786, including one hundred sixty-two from New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, law enforcement officers perform their dangerous and difficult jobs honorably and professionally, with an overwhelming majority of Americans reporting positive interactions with law enforcement officers; and

     WHEREAS, innovative and dedicated efforts by law enforcement officers have been successful in reducing crime rates over the past thirty years from historic highs in the nineteen-nineties; and

     WHEREAS, in recent years, law enforcement officers have faced increasingly hostile environments and threats to their safety, with over seventy-nine thousand officers assaulted in 2023, the highest rate of assaults against officers in years, and one thousand fifty-five officers have been shot in the line of duty in the past three years in the United States, resulting in the deaths of one hundred seventy-two officers; and

     WHEREAS, during the past year, law enforcement officers employed by United States immigration and customs enforcement have experienced a dramatic escalation in threats and hostilities directed against them in carrying out their duties across the United States, including a one thousand three hundred percent increase in assaults, a three thousand two hundred percent increase in vehicular attacks and an eight thousand percent increase in death threats, according to statistics provided by the United States department of homeland security; and

     WHEREAS, according to the national law enforcement officers memorial fund, more than two thousand five hundred law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty in the United States in the past ten years; and

     WHEREAS, law enforcement officers typically encounter an average of four hundred to six hundred traumatic events in the course of their careers, compared to three or four such events for the average citizen; and

     WHEREAS, the high number of traumatic events experienced by law enforcement officers has contributed to a suicide rate that is fifty-four percent higher than workers in other professions; and

     WHEREAS, the number of full-time state and local law enforcement officers in the United States dropped by more than five percent between 2019 and 2021, the equivalent of losing thirty-seven thousand officers, leaving state and local agencies with dangerously low levels of sworn officers to serve and protect communities; and

     WHEREAS, supporting law enforcement officers with the equipment, training and funding needed to protect communities from criminal acts and violence has long received overwhelming public support across the political spectrum;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that law enforcement officers be highly respected and valued in New Mexico and greatly appreciated for all they do to serve and protect their communities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty, and the families of those who have died in the line of duty, be remembered and honored; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all levels of government in New Mexico be requested to work to ensure that law enforcement officers receive the support and resources needed to keep all New Mexico communities safe and to undertake measures to maximize the safety and well-being of all law enforcement officers, including increased police personnel, improved training and equipment, increased penalties for violent acts against law enforcement officers and increased mental health resources for law enforcement officers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the secretary of public safety, the chair of the New Mexico sheriffs' association, the president of the New Mexico association of chiefs of police and the president of citizens behind the badge.

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