'He was indescribable': Friends and family look back at fallen NM State Police officer's life

Those who knew Justin Hare say he was more than a New Mexico State Police officer who protected the streets and highways of Quay County and elsewhere in the Land of Enchantment.

“It’s so hard to put his life and who he was into paragraphs because he was indescribable,” Hare’s girlfriend Daizaare Quintana wrote on a Facebook post.

Hare was shot to death while on duty early Friday morning in eastern New Mexico. He was the second NMSP officer to die in three years after none had died in the line of duty for about 12 years.

Quay County Sheriff Dennis Garcia told the Journal he did not remember Hare having any negative interactions with those he encountered on the road.

“He was always courteous to people,” he said. “You knew once you met him he was going to be there for you no matter what.”

Aside from handling calls and protecting communities, Hare also spoke with students at Tucumcari Middle School to help steer them in the right direction.

“He would take it upon himself to talk to kids about their decisions, talk to them about choices,” Tucumcari Middle School seventh grade teacher Tracy Chavez said. “He was passionate about getting the kids to make better decisions.”

She said the last time she spoke with Hare was in January when he came to the school after working all night “to check on us.”

Chavez said she was “in shock” Friday morning when she learned Hare had been killed.

“My heart certainly broke for his family,” she said. “He was always talking about his daughters and girlfriend.

“This is such a huge loss.”

‘A task at hand’

At about 5 a.m. Friday, Hare responded to a call of a man trying to flag down motorists on westbound Interstate 40 at milepost 318, west of Tucumcari.

State Police Chief Troy Weisler said Hare drove up to Jaremy Smith, who was sitting in a white BMW with a flat tire on the shoulder. Smith then walked up to the passenger side of Hare’s police vehicle. The two had a discussion about fixing Smith’s tire when Smith, without warning, shot Hare. Smith then walked to the driver’s side and shot him again.

Another officer later found Hare’s SUV wrecked on the side of the frontage road several miles away. Hare had been removed from the vehicle left to die on a lonely stretch of highway in the dark, according to New Mexico State Police.

Garcia said he was one of the first responders to arrive at the scene.

“You try to keep your emotions at bay because there’s a task at hand,” he said. “So, I tried to do what I needed to do, which was get officer Hare to the hospital as quick as possible.”

Garcia said he escorted the ambulance to Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, where he helped medical staff attempt life-saving measures on Hare that were unsuccessful.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for over 20 years, and I’ve been to many funeral services for fallen officers. And it hits a whole lot differently when it’s in your jurisdiction and your community,” Garcia said.

On Sunday morning, Smith was arrested after being involved in a shootout with Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies. He was shot and was hospitalized. It is uncertain whether he has been released or not.

Chavez said he was relieved that Smith had been apprehended, as did former Logan Police Chief and current Village Administrator Rodney Paris.

“I think anybody that’s been in law enforcement has been on edge to make sure this evil person did not have an opportunity to hurt anybody else,” Paris said.

‘Try to move forward’

Smith may be off the streets, but left behind in the aftermath of Hare’s death are Quintana, who is expecting a baby in September, and their 7- and 4-year-old daughters.

“I don’t know what the coming days will be like for my girls and I,” Quintana said on Facebook. “But we will try to move forward knowing that Justin is with us every step of the way.”

Several fundraisers were created to help the family, including two online GoFundMe portals. One was put up by an Española resident.

As of 4:06 p.m. Monday, $68,896 was raised. The goal is $100,000.

The other GoFundMe page was posted by the New Mexico State Police Association. This has raised $5,900. The goal is $10,000.

Quintana said she appreciates the donations, people’s prayers and kind words spoken about Hare.

“Reading posts on social media about him, and how he impacted their lives has brought a smile to my face,” she said on Facebook. “Knowing that these are memories that they’ll eventually share at some point with our girls about who their dad was, warms my heart.”