Kim Beck, mother of Charles ‘Gage’ Lorentz, is comforted by her daughter Skylar Kerrigan after speaking about her son’s death Friday at a candlelight vigil in front of the state Capitol. Lorentz was killed by a park ranger on March 20, 2020. The Remember the Many candlelight vigil was held to remember the lives lost to law enforcement shootings and call on state and federal leaders to act.
Elaine Maestas, the sister of Elisha Lucero, who was killed by police July 22, 2019, addresses those attending a candlelight vigil in front of the Capitol on Friday.
Travis Lorentz, father of Charles ‘Gage’ Lorentz, holds a candle with his son’s picture on it Friday at a candlelight vigil in front of the Capitol. Gage Lorentz was killed by a park ranger on March 20, 2020. Travis Lorentz said Friday’s event helped bring awareness to the aggressive tactics of law enforcement.
Organizers of the Remember the Many candlelight vigil arranged 179 candles, each representing a person killed in a police shooting in New Mexico since 2015.
Kim Beck, mother of Charles ‘Gage’ Lorentz, is comforted by her daughter Skylar Kerrigan after speaking about her son’s death Friday at a candlelight vigil in front of the state Capitol. Lorentz was killed by a park ranger on March 20, 2020. The Remember the Many candlelight vigil was held to remember the lives lost to law enforcement shootings and call on state and federal leaders to act.
Elaine Maestas, the sister of Elisha Lucero, who was killed by police July 22, 2019, addresses those attending a candlelight vigil in front of the Capitol on Friday.
Travis Lorentz, father of Charles ‘Gage’ Lorentz, holds a candle with his son’s picture on it Friday at a candlelight vigil in front of the Capitol. Gage Lorentz was killed by a park ranger on March 20, 2020. Travis Lorentz said Friday’s event helped bring awareness to the aggressive tactics of law enforcement.
Organizers of the Remember the Many candlelight vigil arranged 179 candles, each representing a person killed in a police shooting in New Mexico since 2015.
The 179 candles set in a flickering, heart-shaped pattern emanated a warm glow near the Roundhouse, belying the somberness of the occasion.
Each candle represented a person killed by police in New Mexico since 2013. And the state has had the second highest rate of fatal police shootings in the U.S. since 2015, according to the Washington Post.
The families of two of those slain — Charles “Gage” Lorentz and Elisha Lucero — held the Remember the Many candlelight vigil Friday evening to commemorate those who lost their lives at the hands of police and to call attention to what they say is a dire problem in New Mexico.
Bereaved family members believe Lorentz and Lucero, both in their 20s, were among those whose lives could’ve been spared, that law enforcement officers acted too rashly and were not held accountable.
“I’ve felt the unimaginable grief and heartbreak that follows this kind of loss,” said Lucero’s sister Elaine Maestas, choking back tears as she spoke to a group gathered at the vigil. “I will stand up and be a voice to say that things must change. Enough life truly has been lost.”
The vigil comes after law enforcement shot four suspects in the Santa Fe area in two weeks, an unprecedented number in such a short period.
Shannon Kennedy, an Albuquerque attorney, coordinated the event, partly to bring the two families together.
“We’re not only here to call for change, but to honor the lives lost and to honor the families who still grieve for the lives lost at the hands of law enforcement in the state of New Mexico,” Kennedy said to the gathering.
In March 2020, Lorentz, 25, stopped at Carlsbad Caverns National Park while driving up to visit his family in Colorado. A park ranger pulled him over for speeding on a dirt road, leading to a long interaction that resulted in the ranger using a stun gun on the unarmed Lorentz and then fatally shooting him.
A prosecutor and the National Park Service cleared the ranger of any wrongdoing.
Two years ago, Bernalillo County deputies fatally shot Lucero, 28, outside her home, saying she came at them, possibly with a knife. The deputies wore no body cameras, so there is no footage of the incident.
Maestas told investigators her sister suffered from mental illness and grew increasingly paranoid after she’d had a tumor removed from her head.
“Elisha needed help, not 21 bullets,” Maestas said Friday.
Skylar Kerrigan, Lorentz’s sister, said it meant a lot to her to see people come out to express support for the grieving families.
“My brother didn’t deserve to die,” Kerrigan, 20, said. “He didn’t do anything wrong. So we’ll keep fighting for justice in his honor.”
Travis Lorentz, Gage Lorentz’s father, said Friday’s event helped bring awareness to the aggressive tactics of law enforcement.
“It’s very important,” he said.
The candles that signified Lucero’s and Lorentz’s deaths were indistinguishable from the others. A board propped up on a table behind the candles contained the names of all the dead.
The vigil’s purpose was in part to underscore that each person killed was unique and had a distinct life story, Maestas said.
“Behind each name there is a story,” she said. “It is a story of a person who is loved, who is cherished and who is deeply missed.”
Maestas and others condemned what they saw as a lack of accountability for fatal actions by police in New Mexico and across the nation.
Spencer Park, a Utah attorney representing the Lorentz family, said the system is allowing police to act as if they have a license to kill.
Gage Lorentz was pulled over for a possible traffic infraction and within minutes was stunned and fatally shot, Park said. The first shot wounded his leg, causing him to fall to the ground helpless, and the fatal shot was to his chest, he said.
“That officer became the judge, jury and executor in one fell swoop,” Park said, adding that’s not the protection the Constitution is supposed to guarantee.
Maestas agreed that increased accountability is key. Improving a police force’s policies means nothing if no one is held accountable, she said.
“It is clear that this is a problem that is not going to go away without action,” Maestas said. “We have a major problem that we need to get under control.”
