Footage released of violent, deadly attack on Las Cruces police officer
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – The Las Cruces Police Department released body camera and surveillance videos on Friday that showed the violent and deadly attack on 35-year-old Officer Jonah Hernandez. The videos showed Officer Hernandez being stabbed multiple times by 29-year-old Armando Silva.
The attack occurred while Hernandez was responding to a trespassing call on Feb. 11 on the 300 block of South Valley Drive. Both surveillance and body camera videos showed Officer Hernandez approaching Silva and asking him questions about the call regarding trespassing. Seemingly unprompted, Silva can be seen in the videos lunging at Officer Hernandez and stabbing him multiple times while the officer is on the ground.
A witness, identified by police as Issiah Astorga, 29, saw the attack take place and shot and killed Silva, police said. Astorga’s gunfire can be heard in the videos. The body camera video showed Astorga attempting to provide aid to Officer Hernandez after shooting and killing Silva. The video also showed another bystander coming to help and using Hernandez’s dispatch radio to call for aid.
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The surveillance and body camera footage released by police was unredacted and showed the graphic nature of the attack. “I feel like that is the worst video I’ve ever watched in my life, and I’ve seen a lot of bad videos,” said Las Cruces Police Department Chief Jeremy Story during Friday’s news conference.
Story said that if he was not required to release the videos under the Inspection of Public Records Act, he would not have. He provided the following message that he hopes the community takes away if they do decide to watch the videos: “The message is, you see how violent and fast it is. You see the dangers that officers face. And my ultimate message is that I will not let it be in vain,” said Story. “We have to collectively – and I can’t change it by myself – collectively, we have to have positive change for Jonah.”
At the news conference, Chief Story also presented his short and long-term goals to make Las Cruces safer. The goals are listed below:
Short-term goals:
Fill Las Cruces Police Department positions
LCPD has 25 vacancies as of March 1, 2024.
Replace or implement new ordinances to help aid officers in their response and benefit the community
Establish a real-time crime center that would serve Doña Ana County
Long-term goals:
Address competency issues in court to reduce the number of cases dismissed due to people being deemed incompetent
Chief Story said in the last three years, 576 cases were dismissed from Municipal Court on the grounds of incompetency.
Address bail reform
Address the fentanyl and meth crisis
One of the large issues Story pointed out was the number of repeat offenders police in Las Cruces deal with. “It is crime, arrest, release,” Story said repetitively and added, “That is the cycle we are seeing.”
Story said he has spoken with local and state lawmakers in hopes of inciting change ahead of and during the next legislative session. One recent proposed change Story believes will help with crime is Senate Bill 271. The bill, co-sponsored by Senator Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) and Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Albuquerque), was passed during this year’s legislative session. It creates an automatic no-bond hold if a repeat felony offender violates their conditions of release by committing another felony.
The bill is currently awaiting the governor’s signature. Despite that bill, Story said more changes need to be made within New Mexico’s criminal justice system. “The entire NM system is set up to protect criminals at the expense of everyone else,” he said.
KRQE News 13 is not sharing the full surveillance and body camera videos of the attack on Officer Hernandez due to their graphic nature. The videos can be seen in full on the City of Las Cruces’s YouTube page. Viewer discretion is advised. Click here to view the videos and the full news conference.
Witness who intervened in attack on Las Cruces Police officer will not face charges
The Las Cruces Police Department announced on Thursday that Astorga will not face charges for intervening in the attack and killing Silva. LCPD said investigators presented the facts of the case to the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office on Feb. 27, and the office declined to pursue charges against Astorga. Officials said Silva had a long history of violent crime and mental illness.
Officer Hernandez was laid to rest on Feb. 21 at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in El Paso, Texas.
