Honoring APD's Fallen Heroes

Photos from Friday's Memorial Tribute

Nearly 100 Albuquerque Police Officers honored two of their former colleagues at an annual memorial tribute on Friday morning. APD Chief Ray Schultz says the site is used as a classroom for each Police Academy class just before their graduation.

Officer Richard Smith
The City of Albuquerque will be naming it's 6th area command after police officers Michael King and Richard Smith. The beloved officers, the last two killed in the line of duty in the Duke City, were tragically gunned down on August 18th, 2005 by mental patient John Hyde.

Mayor Martin Chavez says construction on the new $7 million dollar facility, which will be located near Cibola High School, is scheduled to begin early next year and be completed by 2011.

Mayor Chavez tells us the Smith and King made the ultimate sacrafice:

They are heroes of Albuquerque.

Officer Michael King
Officers King and Smith were shot and killed while attempting to take Hyde into custody for a mental health evaluation. They were fired upon immediately upon arriving at the scene. Both officers were transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital where they succumbed to their wounds.

Hyde fled the scene on a motorcycle but was located approximately two hours later. He was injured when the motorcycle crashed as officers attempted to stop him.

Hyde was also charged with two murders that had been committed earlier in the evening at a local motorcycle store at a fifth murder of a New Mexico Department of Transportation worker that had occurred that morning.


Officer Smith had served with the Albuquerque Police Department for 22 years. He is survived by his wife and daughter. Officer King had served with the Albuquerque Police Department for 22 years. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Hyde is now at a state mental hospital in Las Vegas, New Mexico.