Darian Jarrott Wiki – Darian Jarrott Biography
Darian Jarrott initiated a traffic stop of a white pickup truck while “assisting Homeland Security Investigations,” according to NMSP chief Robert Thornton in a press conference late Thursday. Law enforcement from multiple departments gave chase, Thornton said, including officers from NMSP, US Border Patrol, Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, and Las Cruces Police Department.
Jarrott began his career as a transportation inspector with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. He was sworn in as an NMSP officer in July 2015.
Darian Jarrott Age
Darian Jarrott was 28 years old.
Family
He survives by his wife and three children with another on the way.
Suspect
Omar Felix Cueva in the Deming area Thursday while assisting with a Department of Homeland Security operation. Thornton said Cueva fired at least one shot, striking Jarrott.
Cueva drove off, but other NMSP officers were able to locate him and pursue him on Interstate 10. Police got Cueva’s vehicle to stop after using a PIT maneuver near Las Cruces.
Las Cruces Police spokesperson Dan Trujillo confirmed they are assisting New Mexico State Police on I-10 and have closed all of I-10 in both directions from Exit 142 at University Avenue to Exit 135 near West Picacho Avenue. Law enforcement says I-10 is closed at MP 101 in Luna County. Motorists should expect significant delays as the investigation continues.
Cueva was shot and died at the scene. An LCPD officer was wounded in the exchange of gunfire but has since been released from the hospital, according to officials.
KTSM obtained a dramatic (but graphic) video of the ending to the chase. You can it see here.
During a news conference late Thursday night, state police said Cueva was on his way to Las Cruces to engage in a drug deal and had a criminal record to include drug trafficking charges.
Shooting Video – Shooting Incident
A driver who had been stopped on a New Mexico highway shot and killed a State Police officer on Thursday and then led officers on a roughly 40-mile chase before his pickup truck was rammed by the police and he was fatally shot, the authorities said.
The violence began when the State Police officer, Darian Jarrott, pulled over the driver of a white pickup truck as part of a homeland security investigation on Interstate 10 near Akela, about 40 miles west of Las Cruces, N.M., the police said.
The driver, Omar Felix Cueva, had been heading by himself from Deming, N.M., to Las Cruces to engage in a “drug buy,” the police said. Mr. Cueva fired at least one shot at Officer Jarrott, killing him, the police said. Mr. Cueva, who had been wearing a bulletproof vest, then drove off, heading east on the highway, according to Roxanne Garcia-McElmell, a spokeswoman for the Doña Ana County District Attorney’s Office.
After another State Police officer found Mr. Cueva’s truck on the highway, Mr. Cueva pulled over near an exit and fired on officers, who returned fire, the State Police said. Officers chased Mr. Cueva farther east on Interstate 10, and placed tire-puncturing strips on the highway, the police said.
When Mr. Cueva reached Las Cruces, pursued by officers from multiple agencies, a Las Cruces police officer sideswiped Mr. Cueva’s truck with his police cruiser, forcing the truck to stop, officials said. Mr. Cueva got out of his truck and fired multiple times at the officers, who fired back, striking Mr. Cueva at least once and killing him, the State Police said. A Las Cruces officer was shot in the arm during the exchange, according to Ms. Garcia-McElmell. He was treated at a hospital and released, she said.
The State Police chief, Robert Thornton, said that Officer Jarrott, 28, had begun his career as a transportation inspector with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and had been certified as a law enforcement officer in 2014. In July 2015, he was sworn in as a New Mexico State Police officer. He was a father of three young children and was expecting a fourth child this year, Chief Thornton said.
“It’s a huge loss to us,” Chief Thornton said at a news conference. “Officer Darian Jarrott went out there today and was serving his state, his community, the best way he knew how. And I love him for that.”
Chief Thornton said that Mr. Cueva, 39, had a criminal history that included charges of drug trafficking.
A local television station, KVIA, posted a bystander’s video showing a police cruiser slamming into the side of a white pickup truck and pushing it on the highway until both vehicles finally come to a stop. As sirens wail, the driver gets out of the pickup and points what appears to be a gun at the cruiser, and a volley of shots can be heard. Officers with guns drawn then surround the driver, who is lying on the ground.
Investigation Report
On Thursday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she will order all flags to half-staff in the state of New Mexico in honor of the officer who was killed.
“I am shocked, heartbroken, and enraged by the loss of this public servant,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “I am praying for the local officer who was also shot and injured.”
Lujan Grisham said the investigation continues and she intends to get all the facts about the incident.
“But what we know right now is a New Mexico law enforcement officer has been killed in the line of duty and I am horrified as we grieve another life cut down, another family crushed by senseless violence in our state,” she said. “Violent crime is a scourge on New Mexico, and the men and women who step up and put on the badge to protect our communities fight it with everything they’ve got every day. We are and must remain grateful for their heroic service every single day – and moments like this remind us why. The New Mexico State Police put their lives on the line to help keep us safe. I join all New Mexico and the New Mexico State Police community in grieving this senseless, heinous loss.”
Flags will be ordered to be flown at half-staff from Friday, Feb. 5, through sundown Tuesday, Feb. 9.