Taoseño promoted to state police captain

Lt. Isaac Valerio, a Taoseño and commander of the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau zone three impact office in Albuquerque, has been promoted to captain. 

Valerio will oversee the Investigations Bureau south zone and will be stationed out of Las Cruces. He will command zones four and five of the Investigations Bureau. 

The south zone covers New Mexico’s 15 most southern counties and encompasses all of the U.S. and Mexico border in New Mexico. The Investigations Bureau is responsible for investigating major crimes for the state police. 

Valerio is a recent graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He has 19 years of law enforcement experience, which started with the Taos Police Department for the first few years of his career. He then worked for the Santa Fe Police Department for a couple of years before joining the New Mexico State Police. 

A graduate of Taos High School, he is the son of Ben and Juanita Valerio, of Arroyo Hondo.