Death is inevitable, it’s part of the life cycle. Sometimes it’s expected when someone is gravely ill and sometimes it’s not. Such was the case on Sunday when we heard Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield passed away unexpectedly, a few weeks after his 50th birthday.
He seemed fine last week. He had just wrapped up the annual Good Friday combined law enforcement exercise ensuring that all pilgrims going to El Santuario de Chimayó were safe, had sworn in a new deputy and eagerly spoke about the projects he was working on, to include a new public safety complex that was to be built on Industrial Park Road. It was business as usual. Or so it seemed.
Merrifield found himself in a precarious situation after being elected as county sheriff in 2022. He was already running the department after former sheriff James Lujan was sent to prison, but many wondered if his tenure would bring more of the same sort of drama that followed Lujan and Tommy Rodella, who was sheriff before Lujan, and also was sent to prison while serving the county.
Merrifield did make headlines — but for all the right reasons. Concerned with the number of overdoses at the Rio Arriba County Detention Center, he led a shakedown with other law enforcement agencies at the jail in December.
He wanted to bring back a 24/7 schedule for his department so the community would have coverage around the clock, which meant he had to go to the County Commission and even the state, asking for money to fund more positions.
He and a group of deputies cut and delivered wood to the elderly and those in need over the winter. He spearheaded the effort to get new vehicles and equipment for his deputies. He donated blood at the Rio Grande SUN blood drives and he made himself available to the community, in general. Yes, he was one of the good ones who wasn’t afraid to stand up to the politicos, even when he knew it was a futile effort.
No, he wasn’t perfect. None of us are — we all have things in our past that we aren’t proud of and he was no exception. But Merrifield genuinely seemed to have the best interest of Rio Arriba at heart and took his job seriously — and it showed.
He expected his deputies to act professionally and treat the public with respect. That included interactions with the media. Not all law enforcement agencies cooperate with reporters and editors, but Merrifield seemed to want to nurture a good working relationship. He returned calls, provided statements when asked and made sure his records custodian responded to and fulfilled IPRA requests as quickly as possible. We are grateful for that.
We don’t know what the future holds for the sheriff’s position, but we do hope that whomever is elected next year will have the same high standards that Merrifield did.
Godspeed sheriff, you served the county well and you will be missed.