He worked as a guard at the local county jail before moving to Clovis in 2009, where he worked in the Curry County Sheriff’s Office and attended the Southeastern New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. Salazar was appointed chief in 2021, just 15 years after graduating from West Las Vegas High School, not even half a mile from his current office. “If you have that much inconsistency anywhere,” he told Searchlight New Mexico from his office just off the Las Vegas Plaza, “you’re going to see issues.” Las Vegas Police Chief Antonio Salazar He acknowledges that both officers and residents in Las Vegas have gone far too long without a steady hand on the rudder. ![]() back to the city’s schools and is encouraging officers to coach youth sports, which police in this town were barred from doing just five years ago. He also wants to bring the anti-drug program D.A.R.E. He envisions a department dedicated to “community policing” - implementing programs like Coffee with a Cop and resuming the “Battle of the Badges” basketball game between the city’s police and fire departments. Antonio Salazar, 35, is just 16 months into his post as police chief. Now, a new police chief is tasked with mending the department’s fractured image. From 2018 to 2021, residents endured a barrage of news about local scandal and corruption. ![]() The past four years have not been good ones for Las Vegas’ leaders. Forest Service accidentally sparked last summer’s Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire - the largest blaze in state history - and imperiled the city’s water supply. The community’s distrust of all forms of government is almost palpable, writ large after news that the U.S. “Cronyism, favoritism and all that stuff, that’s the culture here,” says Rock Ulibarri, a former San Miguel County commissioner who over the years has filed numerous civil rights complaints against the Las Vegas Police Department. This rugged, historic town is on its fifth police chief after burning through four of them in as many years - including one who resigned two weeks into the job.Ī federal agent has accused several of the department’s police officers of moonlighting as informants for an alleged drug kingpin.Ī former mayor was recently convicted of public corruption charges and sentenced to 18 months’ probation.
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