NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – More information is coming out about the Santa Fe police officer who died in the line of duty on Wednesday. In a statement, his wife, Kathleen Duran, described Robert as having a goofy sense of humor and having a deep love of family.
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She says his decision to join Santa Fe Police in 2019 was not an easy one, knowing the risks he would face and that it could take him away from his two sons. But Kathleen says Officer Duran saw it as a way to preserve a future for their children.
She hopes his seven years of service had a lasting impact on who she called, ‘his brothers in blue.’ “Officer Duran was well respected and loved by his peers,” said interim chief for the Santa Fe Police Department, Paul Joye. “We as a department and individuals are grieving and processing his loss.”
Officer Duran died in a crash after an alleged kidnapping led to police to chase a car the wrong way down I-25. Another innocent driver, retired Las Vegas firefighter Frank Lovato, also died in the crash.
There are new questions surrounding that alleged kidnapping, after a Santa Fe Police officer only remembers seeing the alleged victim, Jeannine Jaramillo, in the car they were chasing without a suspect. Court documents also show the story of the kidnapping and description of the suspect was similar to what a Jeannine Jaramillo of the same age gave the police in separate incidents.
Police have not confirmed any other details of their suspect search other than saying the public is not in danger anymore.
