Members of Troop NM1412 Trail Life place flowers on a table to commemorate law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty during a recent ceremony at the Los Alamos Judicial Complex. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Los Alamos Police Chief Dino Sgambellone addresses attendees at the April 15 memorial ceremony for fallen law enforcement officers. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
Los Alamos Police Department and members of the community on Wednesday (April 15) honored some 137 Law Enforcement Officers who died in the line of duty in 2023, while remembering their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families and co-workers. Two of those fallen officers were from New Mexico. The ceremony was held inside the Judicial Complex due to the weather.
LAPD Chief Dino Sgambellone noted that 63 percent of the 137 deaths were the result of a felonious act, including 49 that were killed by gunfire, which was the leading cause of line of duty deaths in 2023.
“The youngest officer was 19, the oldest 79, and the average age was 45. The shortest length of service was 5 days, the longest was 40 years, and the average was 15 years of service. There were 127 male officers that died and 10 female officers, Chief Sgambellone said.
Patrolman James M. Sides died in 2023, succumbing to gunshot wounds he received on April 3, 1984, when he and two other officers responded to a trespassing call in Alamagordo
“When officers arrived, the subject exited the house and fired at the officers. Patrolman Sides was struck in the head and broke his leg while falling. Another officer sustained two bullet wounds to his cheek. The subject fled the house and barricaded himself in the backyard of another residence. When he fired at responding officers, they returned fire, killing the subject,” Chief Sgambellone read. “The subject was a parolee who had been convicted of aggravated battery of a police officer. Patrolman Sides was transported to Las Cruces Memorial Hospital where he underwent a seven-hour surgery to remove a bullet from his temple. Due to his injuries, he retired in October 1984. His death on August 14, 2023, was attributed to the brain injury he received when he was shot.”
Patrolman Sides had served with the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety, now named the Alamogordo Police Department, for three years and previously served with the New Mexico State Police for five years and the Hildago County Sheriff’s Office for one year. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Police Officer Anthony Ferguson succumbed to a gunshot wound he received during a foot pursuit of a subject who had fled the scene of a vehicle accident at 2:18 am.
Officers attempted a traffic stop when they noticed a subject driving a vehicle without headlights or taillights. When the vehicle sped away, officers did not initiate a pursuit. About a mile away, the vehicle crashed into a pole at First Street and Delaware Avenue. After the subject fled on foot, Officer Ferguson pursued the man. The subject pulled out a shotgun and fired, hitting Officer Ferguson in the face. Another officer returned fire and struck the subject in the leg.
Officer Ferguson was flown to UMC-El Paso where he succumbed to his wounds the next day.
The subject had fired at officers in January 2023.
Officer Ferguson had served with the Alamogordo Police Department for 11 years. He is survived by his daughter, son, mother, father, and four brothers.
As of this morning, 58 Officers have died in the line of duty this year, 24 of those were feloniously killed. Ten Officers were feloniously killed in April of this year alone. Felonious deaths in 2024 include Patrol Officer Jonah Hernandez, Las Cruces Police Department who was stabbed to death on February 11 and Patrolman Justin Hare of the NM State Police who was shot to death on March 15.
Our memorial includes two plaques. The first honors and remembers those who have retired from the Los Alamos Police Department and passed on before us. The second honors citizens of Los Alamos who became police officers in other jurisdictions and were killed in the line of duty. They include Anthony Holly, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Glendale, Arizona on February 19, 2007, and Carl Richard Talafous who was killed in a helicopter crash in Hortense, Georgia on July 14, 1993.
Members of Troop NM1412 American Heritage Girls participate in the annual memorial ceremony for fallen law enforcement officers. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
LAPD Sgt. David Randleman was the emcee for the annual ceremony honoring law enforcement who have fallen in the line of duty. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Police officers and Trail Life Troop NM1412 prepare to place flowers during a ceremony to honor law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duties. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com