Las Cruces officer's appeal of certification suspension to move forward

May 2—A state district judge in Santa Fe has revived a former Las Cruces police officer's appeal of his law enforcement certification suspension over an incident in 2022 in which he fatally shot a beer theft suspect.

During a hearing Wednesday, Judge Francis Mathew said he would allow Brad Lunsford's attorney and the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board to make their arguments in the case, which previously had been dismissed by Mathew in late February.

Lunsford's attorney requested reconsideration of the dismissal, arguing in a motion the board had given the former officer only 18 hours to respond before it filed a request to dismiss the case.

An attorney for the board acknowledged in court Wednesday the case had become "procedurally tangled" and that the judge's order to grant Lunsford's motion would make for a "cleaner" course forward in the case.

Lunsford shot and killed Presley Eze, a man who was accused of stealing beer from a gas station. Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced in October criminal charges would be filed against Lunsford, and a grand jury indicted the officer in December. Lunsford faces a charge of voluntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony.

Lunsford's certification was suspended by the Law Enforcement Certification Board in October, a decision that was upheld during a December meeting.

Lunsford appealed the suspension, with his attorney arguing the board had acted outside its statutory authority by issuing a summary suspension, meaning the decision was made without a hearing or a conviction.

The newly formed board was appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2023 under legislation that passed earlier that year.