Santa Fe police officer arrested, faces domestic violence charge in Rio Rancho

Apr. 18—A senior officer in the Santa Fe Police Department was arrested earlier this month on a domestic violence charge in Rio Rancho.

Christopher Lamoreux, 37, is on "alternate duty status" until his criminal case is resolved, Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Ben Valdez wrote in an email Thursday.

Lamoreux "will have no contact with the public pending the resolution of the criminal proceeding and completion of an Internal Affairs investigation into the matter," Valdez wrote.

Lamoreux, a former sergeant who was demoted from the position last year, faces a misdemeanor charge of battery against a household member, according to a criminal complaint filed April 10 in Sandoval County Magistrate Court.

Court records show a history of incidents between the Santa Fe officer and his partner in which disputes at their Rio Rancho home have escalated into violence. However, the recent criminal charge is the first Lamoreux has faced.

His girlfriend, Erica Martinez, a former caseworker for the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, was charged in two cases last year alleging domestic violence.

According to the criminal complaint Rio Rancho police filed against Lamoreux, Martinez told officers he had grabbed her arm with both hands during an argument April 9 and then punched himself on the right side of his face with her hand and shoved her chest.

Lamoreux told officers Martinez had scratched his cheek, the complaint says, but denied grabbing her wrist or applying any force to her.

Police identified Lamoreux as the aggressor because of marks on Martinez's wrists, an officer wrote in the complaint.

Martinez had dialed 911 around 6 p.m.April 9 but immediately hung up, the complaint states. She told police "she didn't think officers would believe her as Christopher is an officer himself."

Lamoreux was arrested and booked in the Sandoval County jail, but a judge ordered his release the following day. A court order setting the conditions of his release state he must remain within Sandoval, Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties and must avoid contact with Martinez.

Lamoreux did not return phone calls seeking comment on the allegations Thursday.

A hearing for his criminal case is scheduled May 15.

The Santa Fe police disciplinary policy states the department has "zero tolerance" for domestic violence.

Valdez cited the policy in an email late Thursday. "Upon completion of an administrative investigation where preponderance of evidence exists that domestic abuse occurred, dismissal upon the first offense is the only appropriate discipline," he wrote.

The department's Internal Affairs Division is monitoring the criminal case against Lamoreux, Valdez wrote, and an internal investigation will be completed afterward.

While Lamoreux's pay and benefits are unchanged, he no longer has his department-issued weapons. "The department immediately collects the badge, department-issued firearms and commission card from personnel placed on alternate duty status," Valdez wrote.

The officer was placed on alternate duty immediately after the department was notified of the incident, he added.

Lamoreux, who was promoted to sergeant in 2021, was stripped of the title and a pay raise in 2023 without public explanation. The demotion came in the months after an alleged incident between the officer and Martinez in which she faced a slew of misdemeanor and felony charges, including child abuse. The charges were later dropped.

Lamoreux filed a petition against Martinez in Sandoval County Magistrate Court after an incident in April 2023 accusing her of domestic abuse and requesting a restraining order. The court granted temporary restraining orders against both of them.

Lamoreux accused Martinez of attacking him while he was holding their baby and breaking several windows in their home.

In a counter petition, Martinez claimed Lamoreux had thrown her to the ground during the incident. She also accused him of a series of other attacks in 2022 and 2023.

Two days after Martinez's charges were dropped in November, she faced a new battery charge in an incident involving both Lamoreux and her father. Her employment with CYFD ended later that month, the agency said at the time.

Police said she had punched and bit her father during a dispute at her home that began while both were drinking alcohol, according to a criminal complaint. The case was dropped the next month, with prosecutors writing in a court filing the dismissal was "in the best interest of justice."

Martinez filed a domestic violence petition April 10 against Lamoreux. She wrote he had grabbed her wrist and used her hand to punch his face to "make it look like I physically assaulted him."

"Mr. Lamoreux has repeatedly physically and verbally abused me throughout our 2-year relationship, including when I was pregnant," she wrote.

A court issued a temporary restraining order the same day.

On Tuesday, however, Martinez requested dismissal of the restraining order, court records show. She wrote it was "no longer needed at this time."

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