New Mexico Fallen Police Officers Honored, Alamogordo Police Department Officer’s Name Added to Memorial Wall
(Santa Fe, NM) – Today, Alamogordo Police Department Officer Andrew J. Dominguez was honored at the New Mexico Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Law Enforcement Memorial where his name was unveiled on a black marble memorial wall.
“It is my great honor to join with the families and friends of New Mexico’s heroes who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty while protecting citizens of our communities. We can never lift the loss, nor find a way to express the pain and the suffering they experience. But we pay tribute to our fallen officers’ sacrifice at this memorial ceremony, and immortalize them so that future generations always will remember their sacrifices,” said Lt. Governor Howie Morales.
The list now contains 209 names of New Mexico law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. “We are here to honor, respect, and remember these New Mexico Law Enforcement men and women for their dedication and sacrifice,” said Mark R. Shea, Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. “Today, we paused to reflect on the 209 names engraved on this black marble wall.”
In a visually stunning ceremony that included an honor flight of three aircraft representing city, county, and state law enforcement agencies, a 21-gun salute, a flag folding and wreath ceremony, Alamogordo Police Officer Andrew J. Dominguez was honored by hundreds of police officers, citizens and family members.
“Each of these losses is its own tragedy,” said August M. Fons, Ph.D., Deputy Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, and Interim Director of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. “They are forever bound together by an unbreakable bond of valor.”
Police Officer Dominguez suffered a fatal heart attack after responding to a call involving a suicidal subject on January 3, 2011. A nine-year veteran of Alamogordo Police Department, he and another officer arrived on scene and searched the area for a woman who had reportedly shot herself in the head. It was later determined that the caller had previously taken medication with a known side of effect of extremely vivid dreams and hallucinations.
Officer Dominguez suffered a fatal heart attack January 4, 2011, after becoming ill during his call for service.
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