Farmington Police Department paid homage on their Facebook page to Officer Ben Herrera, who was the first Farmington officer to be killed in the line of duty.
Herrera was shot and killed March 31, 1962, while investigating a family altercation. He was 38 years old.
Herrera and two other officers responded to a report from a woman that her husband was intoxicated and had threatened to kill his family.
The officers located the suspect’s vehicle at a nearby trailer park and began searching for him. The suspect surprised officers during their search and held a rifle on them. The officers attacked the suspect when he became distracted. During the altercation, the suspect gained control of Herrera’s service weapon and shot him in the chest.
The suspect reportedly shot one of the other officers three times before the third officer subdued him. The suspect was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of Herrera and the attempted murder of his partner, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Herrera, who served in the Air Force during World War II, had been with the Farmington Police Department for one year. He was survived by his wife and six children.
Herrera, who also was an educator, began his career in law enforcement by working for FPD in the summer of 1961. He returned to the Blanco School System as a principal in the fall that same year, but later resigned to become a full-time officer in January 1962.
Herrera's calling and service went full circle when his grandsons were also sworn in as members of Farmington Police Department, one in 2004 and the other in 2014.
In 2017, the FPD lobby was renamed and dedicated in Herrera’s honor.
