Suspect in Alamogordo officer's death had been shot by police earlier this year

An Alamogordo police officer died late Sunday after being shot, allegedly by a man who authorities say was wanted on an active warrant.

Alamogordo police and city officials held a news conference Monday, about 12 hours after the death of officer Anthony Ferguson, who was shot in the face with a sawed-off shotgun. Police said the suspect had a warrant out for his arrest and had been shot by Alamogordo police during a scuffle earlier this year.

Mayor Susan Payne said she was dismayed the man was on the streets and not behind bars at the time of the shooting.

Ferguson was shot early Saturday and died late Sunday, Alamogordo Police Chief David Kunihiro said.

Meanwhile, New Mexico State Police officers and Otero County Sheriff’s Office deputies will be responding to calls for service in the near future in Alamogordo to give the police department time to grieve the loss of a colleague.

Alamogordo internal affairs officers will review the department’s response to the incident.

Ferguson’s body was expected to be transported back to Alamogordo on Monday. Police will be announcing more details for those who want to pay their respects during the procession.

Kunihiro said Ferguson was first transported to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo and then flown to University Medical Center of El Paso.

“Officer Ferguson arrived at UMC with major trauma to his head and face,” Kunihiro said. “Medical staff continuously worked on Officer Ferguson. Unfortunately, Officer Ferguson succumbed to his injuries at 10:51” p.m. Sunday.

Ferguson, 41, was an 11-year veteran of the police department. He was assigned to the patrol division and was also a field training officer, responsible for training less experienced officers. He is survived by his mother, father, four brothers, a daughter and a son.

‘My heart hurts’

Payne, the mayor of Alamogordo, said she spent time with Ferguson’s mother over the weekend.

“My heart hurts as I even bear to consider what she was feeling,” Payne said.

The mayor called on Alamogordo’s roughly 31,000 residents to refrain from taking to social media to express frustration about the shooting. She instead called on residents to contact state lawmakers and the Governor’s Office to ask policy makers to revisit bail reform laws in the state.

“It is my opinion that this person never should have been released,” Payne said. “We need to stop slapping our law enforcement officers in the face by allowing criminals that (police) risk their lives to apprehend back on the streets.”

Bail reform has been a common theme of recent legislative sessions because of New Mexico’s crime rates.

Prior shooting

The suspect in the case, Dominic De La O, 26, was shot in the leg and treated at a local hospital before being booked into the Otero County Detention Center. He was originally booked on attempted murder and aggravated battery charges but that was before Ferguson died.

Kunihiro said New Mexico State Police will handle the criminal case against De La O and Alamogordo police will do an internal affairs investigation into its officers who were involved.

Police previously said that De La O was stopped at 2:30 a.m. Saturday in a vehicle without working headlights or taillights near Puerto Rico Avenue and 9th Street. He fled the stop. Officers didn’t pursue, but police soon found the vehicle had crashed into a pole near First and Delaware and a foot chase ensued, according to State Police.

The agency said that at one point De La O shot at officers with a sawed-off shotgun, striking Ferguson in the face. Some officers went to Ferguson’s aid while others pursued De La O, taking him into custody after a fight with officers at a home on the 100 block of Delaware.

De La O had been involved in a shooting with police earlier this year. He was shot twice in the back by Alamogordo police when he “produced” a handgun during a fight with officers, according to court records. He also had a history of facing charges in connection with fleeing from police and there was a pending felony drug case against him, according to a state court website.

At the time he was shot in the back, De La O was on conditions of release for a pending case on charges of aggravated fleeing of law enforcement, driving while intoxicated and other charges.

After his arrest on those charges, prosecutors in the 12th Judicial District filed a motion to review conditions of release. Prosecutors asked that De La O be held until a hearing could be held and a judge granted the motion.

In May, De La O's attorney filed a motion for De La O to be released for medical reasons over objections from prosecutors. District Judge Angie Schnieder ruled that De La O could be released on conditions of release on June 16.

In the case that De La O was previously shot, he was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Court records indicate a warrant for De La O’s arrest was issued last Wednesday because he violated his conditions of release by being at a party where a shooting occurred.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected from a previous version. De La O had a pending case when he was arrested after being shot by police earlier this year. After that arrest, prosecutors filed a motion to review conditions of release and asked that he be held in jail. He was held until a judge released De La O in June over objections from prosecutors.