LAPD honors three veteran officers retiring within days of one another

Three veteran officers leaving Los Alamos police within about a week of one another took with them specialized experience in crash reconstruction, crisis negotiations, school policing and tactical response, a meaningful loss for a department authorized for 41 sworn officers in a county of about 19,000 residents.

The Los Alamos Police Department recognized Sgt. Eric Wilhoit, Cpl. Robert Larsen and Cpl. Gilbert Padilla in a June 3 release, framing their departures as both an end of service and a test of continuity. Department leaders said recruitment and hiring had allowed patrol coverage and other services to remain uninterrupted, even as three long-serving officers stepped away in May 2026. Deputy Chief James Rodriguez praised the officers for professionalism, leadership and the distinct skills each brought to daily operations.

The timing mattered. Los Alamos County’s FY2026 adopted budget authorized 41 sworn officers, and county staffing information lists LAPD at 88.73 full-time positions overall, including 41 law-enforcement positions and 47.7 civilian positions. In a small jurisdiction like Los Alamos, where the 2020 Census counted 19,419 residents and the Census Bureau estimated 19,187 residents as of July 1, 2022, the loss of even a few experienced officers can ripple through patrol scheduling, training, and the department’s ability to cover specialized assignments.

Wilhoit’s career began in 2008, and his work reached into several of the department’s most technical and sensitive roles. He served on the Crisis Negotiations Team, as a School Resource Officer, as a Drone Operator, as a Field Training Officer and as a Crash Team Investigator. His focus on crash reconstruction and the FARO system made him part of the small pool of officers able to handle complex collision scenes, a capability that can matter on Los Alamos roads when response time and precision both count. Wilhoit said the department was a great place to work and raise a family, and that he and his wife were looking forward to their next chapter in California.

Larsen’s law-enforcement career began with the New Mexico State Police in 2005, giving him two decades in state policing and experience as a District Emergency Response Officer and tactical team member. Padilla retired effective May 23, 2026, after a career that began in 2004 with the Socorro Police Department. Together, the three departures removed a deep bench of institutional memory at a moment when LAPD is still recruiting for police corporal and officer positions and managing the steady demands of a small department. The turnover follows the department’s annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service on May 15 during National Police Week, a reminder that continuity in public safety depends as much on retaining seasoned officers as on hiring new ones.