Cloudcroft's Top Cop, Returned: Schoolcraft on Re-Building a Department
Village PD Chief Roger Schoolcraft covers where the department stands, and how he thinks about policing a small mountain community
Roger Schoolcraft is, for now, the entire Cloudcroft Police Department.
Since May 2024, nine officers of the village PD have resigned or been terminated from what was once a four-officer department — including Schoolcraft himself, who quit as chief on Dec. 31, 2024. “My opinion doesn’t necessarily mesh with their opinion on the way things should be run,” he told the Reader at the time.
Just days after taking office, Mayor Dusty Wiley rehired him with full council approval — fulfilling a campaign promise.
In the 30 days before this interview, Schoolcraft took 73 calls — welfare checks, hit-and-runs, traffic hazards, and public contacts. While we chat, he scans the Flex software display on his computer, which shows every active dispatch call in the county.
The Reader sat down with Chief Schoolcraft to talk about his thoughts on his second stint as police chief for Cloudcroft.
Tech: Extra Eyes on the Road
With one officer covering a remote mountain community on a limited budget, Schoolcraft is making the case for license plate reader (LPR) cameras — one at each end of town, at the intersections of Highway 82 and 130, and at 244 and 82.
“The LPRs are a second set of eyes, 24 hours a day, 365,” he says.
According to Schoolcraft, the cost is roughly $3,500 per camera annually — about $7,000 total — a recurring expense that cannot be funded by the Law Enforcement Protection Fund (LEPF) and will require trustee approval.
“Would it be worth that spend? Oh, absolutely. If you just solve one major case.”
Schoolcraft pointed to technology’s role in a January case that made regional news.
On January 14, a woman checked a child out of school in El Paso and drove north into New Mexico. The Otero County Sheriff’s Office was alerted, and deputies tracked the vehicle through the region. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office located the vehicle traveling north on Highway 54 through Carrizozo, stopped it, and reunited the child with the father. The mother, who had limited visitation, was taken into custody.
Schoolcraft described how LPR technology enabled the intercept. According to Schoolcraft, investigators entered a vehicle description, and cameras along the corridor surfaced hits showing the direction of travel. “You type that in, and any vehicle that’s come by one of those cameras in that time frame is going to show you that image, the plate.”
Officers got ahead and made the stop safely.
The Reader asked about the potential for increased ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations in Otero County. Schoolcraft, drawing on his experience patrolling the Highway 82 corridor, said he has not observed a significant federal immigration enforcement presence. "I don't think Otero is like a drop-off (for undocumented immigrants). They're just coming through. They're trying to get to the bigger cities."
Staffing: Slow and Deliberate
Schoolcraft wants the village to fund “two and a half officers” — himself, one additional certified officer, and a School Resource Officer whose salary would be split 50/50 between the village and the school district. In a recent interview, Mayor Dusty Wiley said he believes the department is the right size at 2.5 to 3.5 officers.
Schoolcraft wants the full council board involved before making a hire. “I want total buy-in from all the trustees. They need to meet with (a potential candidate) and talk to him or her,” he says.
“We just got a taste of hurrying up and hiring people. You hired three, and they were gone in less than six months.”
“My number one priority, other than getting one other officer, is to get the school resource officer program started. I’m going to feel a lot more comfortable knowing that there’s an officer inside of that school with our kiddos,” says Schoolcraft.
“We did threat assessments — I did walkthroughs with different agencies to look at the schools, how they’re locked, doing the hard lockdown, shelter in place.”
Schoolcraft said he and Fire Chief Erich Wuersching have been developing an active shooter response plan in which EMTs follow law enforcement into the building to provide triage.
Schoolcraft is bringing the D.A.R.E. substance abuse prevention education program to Cloudcroft Schools, in partnership with the Otero County Sheriff’s Office.
He also recently helped NM Game and Fish Officer Anthony Chavez start an archery program with Cloudcroft Schools through the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP), which can lead to competitions and scholarships.
Budget: What’s There, What’s Not
The village budget is tight.
The LEPF — Schoolcraft’s primary equipment and training resource — is restricted to vehicles, equipment, and training. He has been buying tools and planning vehicle upgrades.
“I can’t justify going out and buying a brand new unit because that’s $80,000 right there — lights, sirens, radio, all equipment. But I can’t justify it because all three of our vehicles are in good shape.”
“All these federal grants are frozen right now,” Schoolcraft says.
Overtime grants that previously supplemented officer salaries — including the Operation Stonegarden grant for drug and human trafficking interdiction — are currently frozen at the federal level.
Visible, Open, Available
During his first term, Schoolcraft patrolled the village on an e-bike designed for police use — a regular, approachable presence at events and along commercial corridors. That instinct toward visibility runs up against a practical obstacle: the location of the department’s current building.
The village PD currently shares its building with the Otero County Sheriff’s Office, Game and Fish, and the Forest Service — located on Mescalero Avenue above Elevation Park.
“I do not like the PD being up here. We’re two exits away from everyone. They can’t find us,” Schoolcraft says.
He’s considering a near-term fix: a visible directional sign, similar to the library signage.
Schoolcraft spent roughly a decade as the public information officer for the Alamogordo Police Department, handling press coverage of major cases, including officer fatalities.
Unprompted, Schoolcraft brought up a Reader report from August 2025.
Shortly after being hired as Cloudcroft police chief, a Reader editor approached then-Chief Rolando Hernandez at a public meeting to ask about the department’s hiring practices. Hernandez said, “I don’t do interviews, especially if they’re recorded.” The original reporting is here.
Schoolcraft says, “Even through really bad times — officers getting killed — you don’t ever tuck yourself away from people. If you have bad news, it’s bad news, don’t sugarcoat it. If you have good news, go talk about it. People want to know what’s going on. They want to know the truth about things.”
“Transparency — it’s got to be there. Whether it’s good or bad.”
On who he answers to: “I work for you. Every one of y’all is my boss.”
“A lot of people are saying, ‘We’re so glad you’re back.’ It makes you feel really wanted. People here are more connected with one another. Everybody kind of watches over each other. And it makes you feel really vested. I love the people and the children in this community.”
Reporting on the January kidnapping case sourced from Schoolcraft, KVIA ABC-7, and KFOX14/CBS4.
Meet Schoolcraft and his art-making through an exclusive at-home interview with the Reader from October 2024:
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