New Mexico Police Officer's Shooting Death Latest In Tragic Week For Law Enforcement [VIDEO]

A New Mexico state trooper was fatally shot during a traffic stop that led to a multi-agency pursuit in what has turned out to be a deadly week for law enforcement across the country.

New Mexico State Police said 28-year-old Officer Darian Jarrott was shot and killed while assisting a federal Department of Homeland Security operation investigating transnational crimes in a traffic stop.

According to KOTV in New Mexico, authorities were responding to a drug-related crime and the suspect had a federal criminal history. The driver, Omar Felix Cueva, fired at least one shot before leading police on a 40-mile highway pursuit that brought in three additional units, including federal Border Patrol agents.

After finally being stopped by the deployment of tire-deflation devices, Cueva exited the vehicle and opened fire on the responding officers. Authorities returned fire, killing Cueva at the scene. Another officer was shot during the exchange, which was captured on video.

“One Las Cruces Police officer was struck by gunfire,” the New Mexico police said in a statement. “The officer was airlifted to a trauma hospital in Texas where he was treated and released for injuries believed to be non-life threatening.”

[Warning: The below video contains violence and not-safe-for-work language.]

Meanwhile, three officers in North Carolina were shot following a standoff with a suspect that ended early Friday local time. Police late Thursday said they were responding to calls of shots fired and found a suspect barricaded inside his home.

Reporting from WCNC in Charlotte finds the situation was still unresolved as of 9 a.m. ET. Three officers were hit by gunfire, though none of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening.

On Tuesday, two FBI agents, Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger, were killed in the line of duty and three others were wounded while serving an arrest warrant for a suspect accused of possessing child pornography material. The Miami Herald reports the suspect later turned the gun on himself.

In Mississippi, Lt. Michael Boutte was killed in the line of duty on Monday while responding to an attempted suicide. He was a 20-year veteran with military experience.

“He was committed to his community, to all the communities he worked in,” local County Sheriff Ricky Adam was quoted by WLOX as saying.

Officer Down Memorial, a website that tracks the numbers, reports seven members of the force were killed by gunfire so far this year, including a police canine, Riley. Forty-five officers were killed by gunfire last year.

The pandemic in 2020 led to a decrease in crimes such as robberies, although homicides surged last year due in part to the protests over police violence against minorities. Data released Monday by the Council on Criminal Justice showed the homicide rate up 30% across 34 major cities surveyed, with some drastically higher.