Officer Pablo Arreola was voted “Officer of the Year” by other sworn officers during a Dec. 12 banquet held at Estancia Valley Classical Academy honoring some of Edgewood’s finest. He was also recognized during a Dec. 17 Edgewood Commission meeting where he was joined by his wife and three children for a photo.
“Thank you Jessica and family for allowing him to serve and letting us borrow him,” Edgewood Police Chief Roger Jimenez said.
During the commission meeting, Jimenez publicly thanked Arreola for his service, praised his dedication and bravery and shared a situation in which Officer Arreola successfully stopped a wrong-way driver on Route 66 in Edgewood.
“He came over to us from Torrance County, and soon as he got here, he hit the ground running,” Jimenez said. “This guy doesn’t stop. He finds people, he turns over the rocks, and looks in the dark shadows and crooks and crannies of Edgewood. He’s one of our very fine proactive officers.”
According to Jimenez, in June 2024 Arreola was running traffic patrols in the town of Edgewood when he located a driver he believed to be impaired. After engaging his emergency equipment to conduct a traffic stop, the driver fled. During the pursuit, the driver drove into oncoming traffic on Route 66 in an attempt to evade officer Arreola.
“At that point, Officer Arreola made the quick thinking to PIT the vehicle — which means he crashed elegantly into the vehicle — pushing that vehicle off the road and causing the driver to spin out and [the driver] couldn’t use the vehicle anymore,” Jimenez said. “He saved lives that day. We don’t know what would have happened, but that’s one of the many reasons why officer Arreola was was nominated by his peers.”
Edgewood Police Sergeant Angela Byrd says a PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver is a ramming technique used by police to stop a driver’s momentum. Byrd, who authorized the PIT, said after the car was stopped and Edgewood PD put the driver in custody, they found 3000 fentanyl pills and a firearm in the vehicle. She says the driver was also a convicted felon driving under the influence and resisted arrest during the stop.
“The reason why they voted for him was because he has had so many big time arrests [and] multiple drug arrests, that’s his big thing,” Byrd said. “He’s really made a dent in fentanyl distribution in Edgewood,” Byrd said.
Byrd said that Arreola has performed numerous traffic stops and served multiple vehicle search warrants in which drugs were found. She said Arreola has made Edgewood and the surrounding areas safer. Both Jimenez and Byrd said Arreola has saved lives.
“He’s a natural born law enforcement officer. He loves the community and puts himself in danger for the citizens of Edgewood,” Byrd said. “He worked so much overtime to cover other officers so they could go with their families. He was at work 99% of the time. He makes a lot of sacrifices for the town.”
Other law enforcement officers nominated for Edgewood’s Officer of the Year award include Sergeant Armando Campos, Detective Ryan Collier and David Sias.
Officer Arreola was unavailable for comment because he was on a well-deserved vacation. According to Byrd, Arreola and his wife are getting married.
