Public Honors Slain New Mexico Police Officer

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - Thousands gathered today to honor Jose Chavez, a Hatch police officer who was shot and killed during a traffic stop. Law enforcement officers, civilians and New Mexico dignitaries packed the Pan American Center Sunday afternoon in Las Cruces. Gov. Susana Martinez said that for Chavez, who was born in Juarez, Mexico, obtaining U.S. citizenship was not enough to fulfill his American dream. He insisted on giving back to his community in uniform. Chavez's flag-draped coffin arrived in a Navy blue hearse. Officers and residents lined the 9-mile procession route that began in Hatch. A father of two, Chavez was a two-year veteran of the Hatch police force. He was shot Aug. 12 and died at an El Paso, Texas, hospital. Jesse Denver Hanes, of Columbus, Ohio, faces a murder charge in Chavez's death.