Carlos Jaramillo, an often controversial former Santa Fe police chief, city councilor and one-time state liquor director, died over the weekend in Arizona, where he and his wife, Linda Jaramillo, owned a winter home. He was 78.

His sister-in-law, former Mayor Debbie Jaramillo, said Monday that he had been suffering from respiratory problems recently.

Until two years ago, Carlos Jaramillo worked for the state Legislature as head of security during legislative sessions.

Friends and co-workers at the state Capitol on Monday remembered Jaramillo for his easy-going nature and sense of humor.

"He was a guy who was always making jokes and his dress was always dapper," said longtime friend Steve Arias, chief clerk of the state House of Representatives. "But he was very serious about his job."

Debbie Jaramillo had a similar assessment. "People just took to Carlos." she said. "He was a funny, likable guy."

Some retired Santa Fe officers who worked under Jaramillo in the mid-1990s praised their old chief on their Facebook pages Monday. "He was a wonderful chief and a good man," one retired officer wrote.

Carlos Jaramillo was a veteran of the U.S. Navy who began his work in law enforcement in the 1950s, holding positions as a Rio Arriba County undersheriff, Española police chief and state police officer. Arias recalled that Jaramillo headed the state police security at the Capitol back when he was a state officer.

In the early '70s Jaramillo was a Santa Fe city councilor, heading the Police Committee. He resigned in late 1971, several months after Gov. Bruce King appointed him state liquor director.

During that time Jaramillo raised eyebrows for evoking the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when testifying before the state Organized Crime Commission about some of his business dealings with liquor license holders. He never was charged with any crimes related to his time as liquor director.

Jaramillo in 1989 was hired as director of the state Corporation Commission's Transportation Division, a job he held until he became Santa Fe police chief.

In early 1996, then-mayor Debbie Jaramillo — who is married to one of Carlos Jaramillo's brothers — named him to be Santa Fe's top cop. It was probably the most controversial point in her tenure.

The appointment came following nearly two years of tumult and controversy under Police Chief Donald Grady, who feuded openly with the police union and individual officers.

Amid cries of nepotism, the appointment of the mayor's brother-in-law became a major issue in the 1996 City Council elections. After the election, the City Council voted to fire City Manager Ike Pino, the mayor's brother, who had hired Chief Jaramillo.

Despite the controversy over the appointment, many credited Carlos Jaramillo for being a calming influence over the next two years on the troubled police department. Many officers — including some who initially had called his appointment a "slap in the face" from the mayor — praised Chief Jaramillo during that time for his personable manner. "He has a true open-door policy," one officer said several months after Jaramillo took over the department. "You can go in and discuss things with the chief, and he will listen. He won't always agree with you, but he'll honestly discuss it with you."

Some officers at the time, however, criticized him for being too laid back overseeing the department and delegating too much authority to underlings.

"He did calm that mess down," Debbie Jaramillo said Monday.

Arias said Carlos Jaramillo began working Capitol security during sessions more than 10 years ago. Besides the safety aspect of his job, Jaramillo also served as a liaison to the city government. "He helped us to talk the city into being a little more lenient with parking tickets," Arias said. "That was helpful in the days before the big parking garage across the street."

Jaramillo quit the job after he and his wife bought the home in Arizona, Arias said.

Berardinelli Family Funeral Services is handling funeral arrangements, details of which are pending, a spokesman for the funeral home said Monday.

In addition to his wife, Jaramillo is survived by two sons and a daughter, and five grandchildren. He also has five brothers.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.