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Montoya, a 12-year veteran, said he was trying to shoot out a tire when he fired shots at the van as Oriana Farrell, 39, of Memphis sped away from the second of two traffic stops near Taos on Oct. 28.

Many Taos residents and others, on Facebook and with an online petition, have rallied in support of Montoya. About 100 people marched about three miles from the Taos Plaza to the local State Police office on Sunday to call for his reinstatement.

Martinez acknowledged the October traffic stop involving Farrell was “chaotic” and that “maybe none of this would have happened” if Farrell had cooperated with State Police. But she said of Montoya: “Firing his weapon at the tires thinking that would be a manner in which to stop someone – yeah, it’s unacceptable, especially when there are five children in the car.”

Appealing termination

Montoya is fighting his termination and will appeal, his attorney said Monday.

Lawyer Antonia Roybal-Mack of Albuquerque, in an interview and news release, said it was premature to pass judgment on Montoya. “I don’t believe we can second guess our policemen because we don’t have all the information right now,” she said.

For officers putting their lives on the line daily, “one of the most dangerous situations is a traffic stop on a rural road with limited radio access,” Roybal-Mack said.

Montoya, a father of three, thanks the Taos community “for supporting him and his family through this difficult time,” she said.

Montoya “is doing as well as possible considering he lost his job,” she said. “This officer needs his job, he needs his paycheck.”

Internal affairs probe

Kassetas dismissed Montoya after an internal affairs probe of the traffic stop, which made national news and spurred criticism of Montoya and other officers thanks to police dash-cam video of the stop that went viral on the Internet. The video showed another officer swinging his baton to bash out a window on the van as children inside screamed and then Montoya firing the three shots at the van when Farrell drove off.

“We would encourage the public to watch the entire video and make a decision for themselves,” Roybal-Mack said Monday.

Before the shots were fired, Farrell, a writer, rapper and home-schooling advocate, was pulled over for speeding on N.M. 518. The police video shows what was at first a courteous interaction with an officer. But then Farrell balked at signing a ticket and drove off with her kids, ages 6 to 16, without police permission.

Officer Tony DeTavis pulled her over a second time a short distance away and this time initially couldn’t get Farrell out of the van and at one point tried to pull her out. Her 14-year-old son got out of the van and also briefly struggled with officers before both mother and son got back in the van and locked the doors. At that point DeTavis began bashing out a passenger side window, Farrell drove away again, and Montoya, assuming a wide stance, fired three shots at the van.

Farrell and her son were arrested at gunpoint after she stopped at a Taos hotel following a chase that police said reached speeds of up to 100 mph.

Some in Taos see irony in Montoya losing his job over the shooting, considering the officer’s past work as a mentor for troubled youths through a Taos anti-violence organization.

Fritz Hahn of Taos used to run the mentorship program, Men Engaged in Non-Violence, and supervised Montoya. “Elias is a good cop, and he was a football coach,” Hahn said. “He was a good guy. He just made a mistake.”

Hahn recalled working with Montoya. “He was a mentor reaching out to a specific troubled kid and did a great job and had a great rapport with the schools. Elias was steadfast, true blue and reaching out to a troubled kid – a little fourth-grader.”

Support on Facebook

The “I Support Officer Elias Montoya” Facebook page created last week had about 5,400 “likes” by Monday evening. An online petition calling for Martinez to reinstate Montoya had more than 1,400 signatures.

But some are not supportive.

Patrick Trujillo of Taos organized a previous protest march against the police actions in Farrell’s arrest and a meeting between community members and Chief Kassetas. The meeting was postponed last week due to the snowstorm, but Trujillo still wants a meeting with the chief despite Montoya’s dismissal.

In an email to Kassetas, Trujillo wrote that he “continues to request further accountability into the incident” and proposed a meeting on Friday at the Talpa Community Center near Taos. State Police spokesman Lt. Emmanuel Gutierrez said on Monday he did not know yet if Kassetas would attend.

Farrell has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of aggravated fleeing an officer and intentional child abuse and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia and is free on $10,000 bond. Her son is charged with battery against and assault on a police officer.