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Wallace Gonzales

Age : 41

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/29/2024

Location : White Sands Mall parking lot, 3199 North White Sands Boulevard

City : Alamogordo

County : Otero

State : New Mexico

Agency : New Mexico State Police; Las Cruces Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during SWAT standoff following traffic-stop pursuit

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

Wallace Gonzalez was traffic–stopped in Las Cruces. The officer allegedly saw several guns on his dashboard. An unknown exchange took place and Wallace Gonzales drove away. The officer chased him into the White Sands Mall parking lot in Alamogordo. SWAT arrived and escalated a standoff lasting several hours which ended in a shootout with him. He was found dead in his truck.

SOURCE LINKS :

On 08/29/2024, at approximately 7:30 p.m., a New Mexico State Police officer stopped Wallace Gonzales, 41, who was driving a Dodge pickup on U.S. 54 near milepost 75 in Otero County. During the traffic stop, the officer reported seeing multiple firearms on the dashboard of Gonzales's truck. Police alleged that Gonzales threatened to shoot the officer and then drove away, prompting New Mexico State Police to initiate a pursuit.
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The pursuit ended when Gonzales drove into the parking lot of White Sands Mall in Alamogordo. New Mexico State Police Tactical Team personnel and the Las Cruces Police Department SWAT team responded, turning the encounter into an extended armed standoff.
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Police negotiators communicated with Gonzales for approximately three hours in an effort to persuade him to leave the pickup. According to the New Mexico State Police investigation, gunfire was eventually exchanged during the standoff and a Las Cruces SWAT officer fired at least one rifle round toward Gonzales.
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When police subsequently approached the pickup, they found Gonzales unresponsive with a gunshot wound and reported that he had a firearm in each hand. Officers secured the weapons and paramedics attempted to treat Gonzales, but the Office of the Medical Investigator pronounced him dead at the scene.
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The New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau conducted the investigation into the Las Cruces officer's shooting. State Police said its findings would be forwarded to the district attorney for review.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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The Las Cruces Police Department did not publicly identify the SWAT officer who fired at Gonzales.
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