Cloudcroft’s Police Force Expands with New Officer and Chief of Police
Cloudcroft’s police force doubled in size on Tuesday evening, July 1, following the Village Council’s approval of two new hires during a special meeting.
After operating at 25-50% capacity for the past year, Cloudcroft PD experienced exponential growth with the addition of two new hires at a special July 1st council meeting.
This follows the recent welcome of new Officer Ali Manzo to the force. Prior to her hiring, Interim Chief Chris Swanson had been serving as the sole officer for Cloudcroft PD since December 2024.
Newly hired Chief of Police Rolando Hernandez, a Cloudcroft resident and retired Border Patrol agent, will lead the department. Daniel Sepulveda, who brings prior law enforcement experience from Hobbs and Eunice, will serve as a new Peace Officer.
Get to know the new officers in their own words.
Chief of Police Rolando Hernandez, who has lived in Cloudcroft for two years, addressed the audience and the council:
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 33 years. I started as a dispatcher and a reserve deputy back in 1989 down in South Texas. I worked my way up. By the time I left, I was a task force officer undercover for the DEA and I came to the United States Border Patrol. I've been retired for a year and a half.”
“I fell in love with Cloudcroft back in 2005 when I was first [on temporary duty] to the academy in Artesia.”
“I'm going to try my best to make a change. There are three core principles that I've always followed and that's honor, integrity, and vigilance in law enforcement. There’s two things that are very important to me. That's building rapport, building bridges with the stakeholders.”
“Who are the stakeholders? Ranchers, farmers, the community, people that live here, people that visit here, the board. That's who I want to build bridges with. I want to strengthen the bridges with law enforcement, with our local agencies, federal agencies, whoever comes here, whoever drives by, whoever is involved with Cloudcroft. That's who I want to build a relationship with. The whole police department as one.”
“So if I come around knocking on your door, don't worry about it. I'm just trying to get to know you.”
Officer Daniel Sepulveda also shared about his journey to Cloudcroft. He said:
“I come from Southern California, Kern County area. I drove 1,178 miles to New Mexico to be with my fiancé. And now I know why they call it the ‘Land of Entrapment’ because I'm here.”
“Loved it. Love the people. I've had a pretty rough childhood, but that made me who I am today. And I feel it's honestly helped me a lot with my law enforcement journey because I've had my run in with the law, too.”
“When I did security I felt I could do a lot more. I live in this community. Why not help take care of it?”
“I've been hired on as a police officer since January of 2023. I was with Hobbs PD. I had the opportunity to try Eunice, and that's where I actually found myself loving the career.”
“ I got to do what I wanted to do and pace myself. Make sure every person that I've dealt with had felt like they were heard, feel like I cared because I did care.”
“So, fast forward to now. Why am I coming over here? Well, there was misconduct that was happening and I was trying to report it. You know, trying to do the right thing. I held my ground and I guess they formed a click against me. At that point, I've been on administrative leave for quite a while just for trying to do the right thing. It's been months and I felt like my career was being stalled.”
Sepulveda recalls visiting Cloudcroft after seeing the PD job opening:
“I go camping a lot. I still live in Eunice, it's a three-hour drive from here, but I'm willing to make that drive to try to get to know what the place I'm trying to be in.”
“All the shop owners that I talk to, they've been super friendly. It's close-knit. I want to do this. This community seems like they care.”
“One thing I like to tell people is that I whenever I get calls, I know I have the get-up. I know the badge and the gun, but I'm human under here. And I want to treat you human because that's what we both are. Let's make a difference. Let me help you. You help me. Build that relationship.”
“I hope you guys accept me into your community. I'm willing to put 200% into this. Everywhere I look, everywhere I turn my head, it's beautiful here. I want to help keep it beautiful.”
Mayor Tim King swore in both Hernandez and Sepulveda at the Tuesday night special meeting on July 1, and they are now ready for service.
For more coverage of the Cloudcroft PD, check out these articles from the Reader archives:
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