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Hector Mario Nava Jr.

Age : 45

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 07/31/2021

Location : Pilot Travel Center parking lot / Jal city jail

City : Jal

County : Lea

State : New Mexico

Agency : Jal Police Department

Officer(s) :Corey Patrick Saffell; Ceasar Enrique Mendoza; Robert Edward Embly

Cause of Death : Taser

Event : Died after arrest and repeated Taser use

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 07/31/2021, Jal Police Officer Corey Patrick Saffell stopped Hector Mario Nava Jr. after observing him driving at night without his headlights on. Saffell alleged that Nava provided false identification, and Officers Ceasar Enrique Mendoza and Robert Edward Embly responded to assist with the arrest. The underlying allegations against Nava were nonviolent and stemmed from a routine traffic stop.
Federal prosecutors later alleged that after Nava was handcuffed, officers attempted to force him into the small prisoner compartment of a K-9 patrol vehicle. When he had difficulty fitting inside the compartment, Mendoza deployed his Taser 13 times while Saffell repeatedly encouraged him to continue using it. After Nava was moved to another patrol vehicle, Mendoza deployed the Taser a 14th time.
Prosecutors alleged that by this point Nava was no longer posing a threat, was handcuffed throughout the encounter, and did not attempt to flee or assault the officers. After arriving at the Jal jail, officers dragged Nava's limp body into a holding cell and left him lying on the floor while showing signs of severe medical distress, including unconsciousness and loss of bladder control. Rather than immediately obtaining emergency medical care, officers delayed intervention until Nava stopped breathing.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator ruled Nava's cause of death to be acute methamphetamine toxicity. However, the federal government argued that the officers' repeated use of a Taser and their failure to obtain prompt medical care constituted unreasonable force and deliberate indifference to a serious medical need. Prosecutors argued that regardless of the medical examiner's findings, officers had a constitutional duty to recognize Nava's obvious medical emergency and summon treatment instead of continuing to use force and leaving him without aid.
The case resulted in rare federal civil rights prosecutions against the officers. Corey Patrick Saffell pleaded guilty in 2024 to unlawful arrest, failure to intervene, and deliberate indifference to Nava's serious medical needs. In 2025, a federal jury convicted Ceasar Enrique Mendoza and Robert Edward Embly of unreasonable force, failure to intervene, and deliberate indifference to Nava's serious medical needs. The City of Jal separately agreed to pay $5 million to settle a wrongful death and excessive force lawsuit brought by Nava's estate.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/us-attorneys-office-secures-conviction-two-former-jal-police-officers-civil-rights
https://www.hobbsnews.com/jal-settles-5m-excessive-force-claim/
https://www.hobbsnews.com/jal-police-officers-charged-on-federal-rights-violations/
https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article301337799.html
https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article301337799.html