Family breaks silence on ‘fallen hero’
‘We have all lost someone special,’ Jarrott’s ex-wife says
Numerous leaders and law enforcement personnel in New Mexico — along with locals in his hometown of Lordsburg — have spoken about fallen State Police officer Darian Jarrott in recent days.
On Saturday afternoon, his family’s voice was heard, calling the 28-year-old man an “irreplaceable” officer and father of three.
“We have all lost someone special and close to our hearts, and I am so honored and proud to see the amazing impact he has left on this Earth,” said Gabriella Jarrott, who shared two sons with Darian Jarrott.
Authorities say Jarrott was shot by Omar Felix Cueva, 39, during a traffic stop on Interstate 10 east of Deming just after noon Thursday. Soon after, Cueva was killed in a shootout with authorities in Las Cruces. While a spokeswoman with the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office had previously said that Cueva was wearing a bulletproof vest, State Police have since said that was not the case.
Saturday, outside the State Police Office in Deming, where Darian Jarrott had been stationed, Gabriella Jarrott reminisced that the officer’s “favorite thing” was getting hugs from his kids at the end of each shift.
“He no longer gets that relief at the end of his days because our children have lost their best friend,” she said. “But I am sure to remind them that he is not gone because he always will be in their hearts and watching over them, protecting them and loving them
in ways they cannot see but I know that they will feel.”
Next to being a father, Gabriella Jarrott said Darian Jarrott’s greatest passion was being an officer, which showed in the spotless shine of his boots, the cleanliness of his guns and a uniform starched “to the point where it stood up on its own.”
“He was proud of his job, and to him it wasn’t just a job because he never worked a day in his life,” she said, calling him a “fallen hero.”
State Police officer David Taranga, Darian Jarrott’s uncle, said his nephew was a “curious, smart, child” born into a family with strong ties to law enforcement in southwest New Mexico.
“Our family remembers Darian as a happy, outgoing, lovable person regardless of what life threw at him,” Taranga said. “He was always smiling. He loved with all his heart — most of all, he loved his children.”