The 1980s

In early 1980, 33 inmates were left dead and several other inmates and correctional officers wounded as a result of a riot at the New Mexico State Penitentiary in Santa Fe.  The state police and national guard were both called in, but the primary responsibility of restoring order fell to  the state police.  As officers secured the perimeter of the facility, the State Police Tactical Team prepared to make entry, after days of negotiation had failed.  

February 3, 1980.  The New Mexico Penitentiary riot was the 

worst in U.S. History:  $22 million damage, 33 dead.

As the tactical team made entry, hostages were freed and inmates were secured, and the end of the riot was at hand.  Members of the Criminal Investigations Division were left with the task of piecing the event together and bringing criminal charges on those inmates responsible for the crimes committed.  State police fingerprint technicians had the difficult but crucial task of identifying the dead inmates, since all of the records were destroyed.  The riot made national news and gave proof of the efficiency and capability of the state police.

Officer Gomez was commissioned on December 1, 1970, and was assigned to Cuba.  He worked in Cuba until 1975 when he was transferred to Gallina.  In 1977, he was transferred to the Intelligence Division in Santa Fe.  He later transferred back to the Uniform Division on April 15, 1978, and was stationed in Truth or Consequences for about seven months, then transferred back to Gallina.

During the year of  1980, the Automated Data Processing and Planning Divisions were established and the new Las Vegas district office was completed and occupied.

Throughout 1980 and 1981, the department purchased a few Aerodynamic light bars that extended across the top of the unit, a departure from the more traditional double rotating red lights familiar to state police units. 

In early 1981, Officer Don Morrison, stationed in Las Cruces, asked for and was given permission to do a four-month evaluation of using a slick top marked state police car.  Officer Morrison used his unit, a 1979 Dodge St. Regis.  He removed the roof-mounted lights and installed grill and rear deck lights, along with a red light in the spotlight.  During the testing process, he found that traffic enforcement with the use of the slick top greatly enhanced his ability to observe traffic and criminal violations.  This unit was the forerunner of the slick top units in use today.

The Legal Division was enlarged in 1981 with the hiring of one additional attorney.  The Records Division and the Communications Division were separated into their own entities.  The department continued to grow during 1981 and 1982, and Chief Vigil retired on December 1, 1982.  Deputy Chief Richard C de Baca was appointed to replace Chief Vigil.  Chief C de Baca joined the State Police in July 1956.

On December 24, 1982, Sergeant Joseph (Bob) Evetts was shoveling snow from the sidewalk of the Raton District Office when he suffered a fatal heart attack.  Sergeant Evetts was commissioned on June 2, 1966.  His first duty station was Portales where he served one month and was then transferred to Tularosa.  He stayed in Tularosa until 1970 when he was transferred to Alamogordo.  In 1971, Officer Evetts was transferred back home to Portales and remained there until he was promoted to sergeant on January 1, 1980, and transferred to Raton.

Early in 1983, Chief C de Baca retired from the State Police after serving as chief for 73 days.  A new selection process for chief was created, making the position open for solicitation from eligible employees.  The State Police Board interviewed applicants, and on March 4, 1983, Captain Maurice Cordova was selected and Governor Toney Anaya appointed him Chief of the New Mexico State Police.  Chief Cordova joined the State Police on November 1953.   

Officer Nathan Wallace with $1.5 million cash seizure 

related to illegal drug trafficking.

In 1983, the department’s authorized strength for commissioned officers was 381.  The year's seizure of cocaine was $239 million, primarily taken on Interstate 40.  The state police also seized $1.6 million in drug-related cash.

The New Mexico State Police became a leading agency in the nation on drug interdiction, and as a result of nationwide publicity, several state police officers traveled the country, training other agencies on techniques of profiling cocaine mules.  Some of the officers had the opportunity to appear on national television talk shows because of their successes in drug apprehensions.  

Agent Don Day in marijuana plantation

Until late 1983, high-ranking state police officials were in charge of various headquarters divisions.   At that time, civilian supervisors replaced the state police commanders over the Records, Automated Data Processing, and Property Divisions.  During 1983, Chief Cordova appointed Officer Gordon Eden as a traffic accident reconstruction specialist, assigned to reconstruct serious traffic accidents. 

In mid-July 1983, the long-time enforced maximum age requirement of 35 for applicants was lifted, due to new federal discrimination regulations.  This allowed the state police to recruit and hire older officers, increasing the size of our recruitment pool.

In the mid-1980’s, several new federal regulations were passed relating to law enforcement agencies that would affect the state police, bringing about drastic changes.  One change was the application of the Fair Labor Standard Act to police departments, which no longer allowed officers to work over eight hours without being compensated, either monetarily or with compensatory hours off.  Prior to this, the state police had a day and night shift, each covering 12 hours of the day.  If an officer were called out he would not be compensated unless he was able to balance his overtime hours off the following day.  This was only done at the discretion of the supervisor.  If there was not sufficient coverage for two shifts, the officer would work "general hours."  This  meant the officer would work a minimum of eight hours during the work period, but be on call the rest of the 24-hour period.  When the federal government required police agencies to compensate overtime, the "general hours" shift was gone forever.  The state police paid sergeants and officers overtime for the first time beginning in July 1984.

Another long-standing state police tradition was broken during this year when short sleeve uniform shirts were approved for summer wear.  The short sleeves were optional during the summer; officers could still wear the long sleeve shirts if they chose to do so.  A 3,000 square foot underground evidence storage facility was completed at headquarters during this year as well.

On August 6, 1984, at 10:47 a.m., Officer/Pilot Lowell Howard and Officer David Smith, acting as an aerial observer, were killed in an airplane crash in Farmington.  The officers had been on an hour-long traffic enforcement assignment along US 550, near the eastern city limits of Farmington.  They had concluded their stopwatch surveillance and were returning to the airport west of Farmington.  The aircraft, a single engine Cessna R172E piloted by Officer Howard, toward the east, at a low altitude, presumably to observe traffic or for another enforcement observation.  The aircraft struck an electric  transmission line, plunged to the highway, and flipped onto its top.  It crashed onto the inside lane of the four-lane highway and burst into flames.  Both officers were killed instantly. 

Officer Howard was commissioned on October 16, 1978.  He was assigned to the Uniform Division in Santa Fe where he stayed for approximately one year before joining the Aircraft Division.  Officer Smith was commissioned on October 16, 1978, and was stationed in Farmington.  He resigned from the state police for about 30 days, then was rehired and stationed in Jal, where he served for about a year, then transferred back to Farmington.

In response to amendments to the Emergency Management Act, the department created the Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division, effective May, 1984.  An administrator was hired and Haz Mat Response Officers from each district were trained and assigned.  A Public Affairs Officer was appointed with the rank of Major, to act as the department’s liaison with the news media concerning state police activities.

On August 1, 1984, two new State Police Districts, Tucumcari and Deming, were created.  The state police headquarters building was also under renovated, and the Socorro District acquired a new district office. 

As the State Police Aircraft Division grew, the pilots and planes were used in more diverse ways.  One use was in aircraft speed zones.  A pilot would fly to a specified district and with the assistance of one of the district officers as an observer, the aircraft would circle a quarter-mile long speed zone painted on the highway and clock cars with stopwatches.  The pilot would call the description of the speeding car to officers on the ground, who would stop the vehicles and issue citations accordingly. 

In an effort to address New Mexico’s increasing DWI problems, the department purchased four Pontiac station wagons, fully marked, for the purpose of being used as mobile Bat-Mobiles.  Guidelines were also set for the department to implement sobriety checkpoints for the first time.  Federally funded overtime projects were also initiated to combat the problems associated with an increase in drunk drivers.

During 1988, the department began replacing the remainder of the double rotating red lights with the new Street Hawk light bar that was encased across the top of the car.  It came equipped with side alley lights and front takedown lights.  It also had double rear flashing amber lights to replace the old single amber light previously attached to the light bar.

On February 1, 1985, Officer Manuel Olivas was investigating a motor vehicle accident on I-25 at milepost 323.  The occupants of the vehicles had already left the scene and Officer Olivas was getting measurements and waiting for a wrecker.  Officer Olivas was taking measurements along the road edge on a bridge, when a drunk driver in a pickup approached from behind and struck him with his right front fender.  Officer Olivas was knocked off the road and died instantly.  The drunk driver continued to Las Vegas, New Mexico.

At 8:45 p.m., one of the wrecker drivers used the police radio to advise the Las Vegas State Police Office of the officer’s condition.  A search of the motel parking lots in Las Vegas by State Police Officer Tom Meserve discovered the suspect’s vehicle, after which he was arrested and charged with Vehicular Homicide.  Officer Olivas was commissioned on December 27, 1980.  He was assigned to Gallina, where he worked for several weeks and then resigned.  He worked for the Roswell Police Department for 16 months and was then reinstated with the state police and stationed in Chama.  After 18 months, Officer Olivas was stationed in Ribera.

Chief Cordova retired from the State Police on August 31, 1985, and Major Maurice J. Payne was selected as chief.  Chief Payne joined the State Police in April of 1958.

During 1986, the department was lagging behind on training updates, and because there were insufficient funds available to establish in-service schools, the District Training Officer Program was implemented.  Chosen officers from each district would attend instructor development courses to become certified instructors.  The training officers attended a variety of courses at the training academy in Santa Fe, and returned to their districts to train the other officers.  This program was slowly phased out during 1987.

On March 5, 1986, Officer Sherman Toler was working radar west of Tucumcari, when he clocked a black Cadillac speeding 60 MPH in a 55-MPH zone.  After stopping the vehicle, Officer Toler obtained permission to search the rear of the vehicle.  While he was searching the trunk, the male driver was standing next to him and a female occupant remained inside the car.  An argument erupted between Officer Toler and the suspect, which escalated into a physical fight.  Both men went to the ground struggling.  The suspect was able to obtain the officer’s .357 revolver sometime during the struggle, stood up, and fired at Officer Toler, who was still on the ground.  The suspect emptied the revolver at the officer, hitting him five times from a distance of about five feet.  The officer was wearing a bulletproof vest which absorbed some of the rounds.  After the weapon was emptied, the officer stood up and pulled out a boot knife, which prompted the suspect to strike Officer Toler on the head with the revolver.  The suspect sped away in his Cadillac, still in possession of the weapon.  He drove to a nearby Stuckey’s and laid the revolver on the counter and told the attendant to call the police.

The investigation revealed that the suspect had earlier been given a citation in Arizona and had his car searched by the New Mexico State Police earlier the same day in Grants.  A search of the suspect’s criminal past showed he had a history of fighting with police, including a traffic stop in 1974 where he had a shot a police officer in San Bernardino, California.

Officer Toler was commissioned on October 10, 1979.  His first duty station was at Moriarty.  During his working hours on I-40, he developed the skill of drug detection and became one of the state police officers to help set the stage for Operation Pipeline, which became an extensive drug interdiction operation nationwide, along I-40.  New Mexico became the leading state in this exercise.  In June 1984, Officer Toler transferred to Elida, and in April 1985, transferred to Portales.  He missed working on I-40 and was transferred to Tucumcari in July 1985.  There he began picking up large loads of narcotics and money seizures.

During the 1986 legislative session, a bargain was made with members of the legislature to give up 40 commissioned positions and 20 vehicles in order to gain a substantial salary increase.  Uniformed officers continued drug interdiction along I-40, making several thousand dollars worth of seizures every month.

During 1987, the State Police Department witnessed a structural change that would not be an easy transition for many of its members.  When Governor Gary Carruthers took office, he began a state government consolidation program, which combined several state entities under one organization, headed by a cabinet secretary.  Initially, the proposed department was to be called the "Public Safety Department," so as not to be confused with the many other "Departments of Public Safety" already in existence in some New Mexico cities.  Ultimately, the name "Department of Public Safety" was decided upon.

Under this new system, the Department of Public Safety had under its auspices several former department level agencies which, included the New Mexico State Police, Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Civil Emergency Preparedness, Division of the Office of Military Affairs, and the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.

Once again, the state police organization found itself a division, instead of a department.  A non-police cabinet secretary was appointed over DPS, as it became known.  Chief Maurice Payne retired from the state police on July 31, 1987, and Major Neil Curran succeeded him as the first Chief in the DPS system.  Chief Curran joined the state police in November 1965.

During this year, the rank of deputy chief was abolished and replaced with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

The Governor’s Organized Crime Commission and the Alcohol Beverage Control Agents were placed under the newly created Special Investigations Division (SID), while the State Police Division, with the exception of a few minor changes, retained its same internal structure. 

On the morning of February 13, 1988, at 3:34 a.m., Officer/Pilot Wayne  Allison left Santa Fe, flying the state police Cessna 337 Skymaster, bound for Carlsbad, New Mexico.  Communication was established with air traffic control shortly after departure, with no apparent problems.  Approximately eight miles southeast of Galisteo, at about 4:00 a.m., for unknown reasons, the aircraft plummeted straight into the ground, killing Officer Allison instantly.  The cause of the crash was never determined.  Officer Allison was commissioned in November 1985, and was stationed in Gallup.  He spent about two years in the Gallup District until he was transferred to the Aircraft Division in Santa Fe as a pilot.

The department started looking at the physical fitness of its officers and initiated a voluntary program where officers could participate if they chose.  The testing was done bi-annually and was comprised of running 1.5 miles, sit-ups and push-ups.

During 1988-1989, federal funding was received to establish sobriety checkpoints to run every week.

Also during 1989, the State Crime Lab expanded by placing a satellite lab in Las Cruces to be used by police agencies in southern New Mexico.

The legislature approved a budget of $75,000.00 for the department to purchase and utilize three boats for lake patrol.  The Marine Patrol was introduced in May 1990, when the department purchased three Marlin 213 Sportfisher boats.  Officers were tested and trained to be boat officers, as an addition to their regular duties as officers/agents.  The boat patrol is responsible for over 61,000 square miles of water in New Mexico.  

The department ventured away from tradition during the year 1989 by putting six unmarked units equipped with the new H.A.W.K. radar to patrol around strategic locations throughout New Mexico.  The "stealth units," as they became known, were multi-colored slick tops with the red lights mounted on the front push bumpers and in the rear window deck.  The concept of using unmarked units was not a new idea for the State Police; they were used once for a brief period during the 1950’s to patrol the highway.