The Ghetto Lottery
(This is a follow up to 5 Cops, 90 Gunshots, 1 Unarmed Man). A reader contacted me with pertinent information regarding my previous post...
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J.R. LONSWAY
AUTHOR | RETIRED DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE
J.R. Lonsway
- Mar 5
- 11 min
5 Cops, 90 Gunshots, 1 Unarmed Man
I first heard about the LCPD shooting of Jonathan Strickland a day or two after it happened. A newspaper article informed that Strickland...
40 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Feb 7
- 11 min
The Longest Police Strike in U.S. History (Part II)
(This is the follow-up post to the original article which was published February 2. It is a summary of the LCPD police strike of 1976)....
18 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Feb 2
- 11 min
LCPD On Strike!
It remains the longest police strike in USA history and it occurred right here in Las Cruces, NM, nearly fifty years ago. At the stroke...
29 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jan 18
- 3 min
Liberals And Firearms
Two bills are proposed this legislative session, HB50 and HB100, one which addresses magazine capacity and the other a 14-day waiting...
27 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Dec 30, 2022
- 4 min
The Transgender Athlete
In a decision made on December 18, 2022, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a panel of three judges ruled that four...
20 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Dec 24, 2022
- 3 min
Cops At Christmas
I have distinct memories of my first Christmas as a patrol officer with LCPD, working the 11PM-7AM shift. I took a couple of residential...
28 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Dec 18, 2022
- 4 min
America's Crazy Train
The train has left the station and the conductor, Joey "Choo-Choo" Biden, is taking us on a one-way trip to Crazy Town with no stops. At...
25 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Dec 2, 2022
- 4 min
Aggies Give New Meaning to "Pistol Pete"
Blame it on the mascot, I guess. Pistol Pete, the rootin' tootin' pistol packin' cowboy of the NMSU Aggies has apparently influenced at...
29 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Nov 21, 2022
- 5 min
The Bearded Policeman
I was in Walmart recently and saw a uniformed LCPD officer with a beard. I had seen officers from other agencies sporting full beards and...
26 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Nov 10, 2022
- 2 min
Happy Birthday, Leatherneck!
Guess who turned 247 years old today? That's right, the United States Marine Corps. Former and active duty Marines worldwide know that...
17 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Sep 11, 2022
- 5 min
September 11, 2001
We all remember where we were that morning. I was a deputy chief of police two months from retirement and sitting at home having coffee...
29 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Aug 24, 2022
- 4 min
American Heroes: Alford McLaughlin, Edward Benfold, Fernando Garcia
One night of battle, three Medal of Honor recipients. The battle for Hill 122 in South Korea, nicknamed Bunker Hill by those who fought...
12 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Aug 21, 2022
- 3 min
School Resource Officers
There is a simple solution to the problem of understaffed law enforcement agencies lacking the resources to put cops and deputies in...
31 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Aug 10, 2022
- 4 min
American Heroes: Audie Leon Murphy
I grew up seeing Audie Murphy as an actor in westerns and a war movie called To Hell And Back. It would be years before I recognized that...
27 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Aug 7, 2022
- 4 min
Sitting On The Political Fence
I've been critical of District Attorney Gerald Byers since 2020 when he charged former LCPD officer Chris Smelser with involuntary...
22 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jul 28, 2022
- 6 min
Police Oversight Committee
In this past Sunday's Sun-News there was an opinion posted by Peter Goodman regarding the need for a Civilian Police Oversight Committee...
25 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jul 16, 2022
- 5 min
A Cop Finally Gets Justice
The two and a half year nightmare endured by former LCPD Officer Chris Smelser and his family is over. Justice has prevailed in a case...
505 views1 comment
J.R. Lonsway
- Jul 14, 2022
- 1 min
JUSTICE!!!!!!!!
This morning, shortly before 9AM, 3rd Judicial District Court Judge Driggers handed down a directed verdict in the trial of former LCPD...
63 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jul 13, 2022
- 4 min
A Lack Of Journalistic Integrity
Once again, a Las Cruces Sun-News reporter picks and chooses what information he wants the public to know when reporting on the trial of...
74 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jun 28, 2022
- 2 min
Human Trafficking & Liberals
Ask a progressive liberal how they feel about human trafficking and the response is predictable: a horrible crime that strips human...
27 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jun 24, 2022
- 4 min
American Heroes: James L. Day
He was a United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient and a career Marine. His service spanned WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He...
23 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jun 21, 2022
- 4 min
Editorials & Opinions
Readers of this blog will never be insulted with the dodge that what you are reading is the opinion of the editorial staff at...
24 views0 comments
J.R. Lonsway
- Jun 6, 2022
- 8 min
The Law Enforcement Response To School Shootings: A Personal Experience
Years before LCPD had SWAT or K9, and long before the term "active shooter" was coined and law enforcement agencies were faced with the...
28 views0 comments
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