BCSO sergeant killed during I-40 traffic stop

A sergeant with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office was killed while on duty when his vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 on Monday, the agency said.

"The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is heartbroken to confirm that one of our sergeants was killed in the line of duty this evening,” BCSO spokesperson Jayme Gonzales said in an email Monday night.

Sgt. Michael Schlattman, who had been with the agency since 2012, was conducting a traffic stop late Monday afternoon on eastbound I-40 near Carnuel when the crash occurred, Gonzales said.

"While he was outside the vehicle, a semi-truck struck the rear of his department-issued vehicle, ultimately pinning him beneath," she said in a news release early Tuesday morning. 

Schlattman died at the scene.

Sheriff John Allen battled tears in the early hours Tuesday morning as he spoke of Schlattman, also known as Schlatty to his colleagues.

"He was known for being a true leader in the field, as you saw him today during the traffic stop," Allen said. "He was always wondering what was going on with the agency and wondering what he can do better and how to help the deputies and how to help us become a better agency."

Schlattman, who became a sergeant in 2024, worked in various capacities for BCSO, including time as a detective in the special investigations and auto theft units and as a task force officer with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

At the time of his death, Schlattman was a sergeant in the East Mountains.

Allen said there were a "couple people" who were injured, including the semi-truck driver. They were treated at the University of New Mexico Hospital. 

BCSO said investigators were reviewing dash-cam footage of the traffic stop and that multiple people were affected by the incident. 

"We just want to make sure since this is so fresh and raw that we're giving everything time," Allen said. "We always want to make sure we give our community that we serve with transparency and facts ... and they're still developing."

Allen added that the Sheriff's Office would continue the work that Schlattman had done to the standards he would have expected. 

"That was his last call tonight and we'll take it from here," he said early Tuesday. "That's always been the tradition of law enforcement; we have no other choice. That's what we signed up for, that's what we'll continue to do."

Both lanes of I-40 were closed for hours Monday while authorities investigated, and they remained blocked early Tuesday morning.

Schlattman is the first officer killed in the line of duty in New Mexico this year. Two officers, Antonio Aleman of the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office and Timothy Ontiveros of the Bloomfield Police Department, were killed in the line of duty last year.

A procession for the BCSO sergeant began late Monday night along I-40 and went through the city to the Office of the Medical Investigator. 

A memorial service for Schlattman will be held, and information will be shared with the public when his family is ready, Gonzales said.

"Sergeant Schlattman was a servant leader and a protector in the truest sense," Allen said. "He was the kind of supervisor who never asked a deputy to do something he would not do himself. Our hearts are broken, and we are asking our community to carry this family and this agency in your prayers.”

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.