Gallup police mourn former officer Kelvin Akeson after cancer battle

Gallup police are mourning former officer Kelvin Akeson, known to many as Ake, after the department said he died following a battle with cancer. The department said on May 27 that Akeson died the night before and remembered him as someone who served the Gallup community with honor, integrity and unwavering dedication.

Police said Akeson’s professionalism and steady presence left a lasting impact on the department and on the citizens he served. The statement did not include his rank or years of service, but it placed him among the officers whose work shaped public safety in a city where law enforcement has long been tied to personal relationships as much as to patrol work.

Gallup’s own memorial history gives that loss added weight. The city’s Wall of Remembrance honors officers who died in the line of duty, including Louis Silva in 1930, John B. Arvizo in 1965, Barney Montoya in 1977, Ronald T. Baca in 1986 and Larry Brian Mitchell in 2001. That public remembrance tradition has helped define how the city marks police loss, especially at the department’s headquarters at 451 S State Road 564, where Chief Erin Toadlena-Pablo is listed in the city directory.

Akeson’s death also comes after other recent losses that hit Gallup law enforcement hard. Retired Detective Donald Howard died of brain cancer in 2017, and his funeral plans included an escort from the Gallup Police Department. Former Gallup police chief and McKinley County Sheriff Frank Gonzales, who served as a Gallup patrol officer from 1961 to 1977 and as police chief from 1977 to 1992, died June 29, 2025, adding another name to the city’s long law-enforcement legacy.

The community has also shown that public mourning for officers can draw large crowds. A 2026 vigil for Navajo Nation Police Officer Houston James Largo at the Gallup Police Department drew more than 300 people, reflecting the close ties between Gallup officers, county residents and neighboring agencies.

Police asked the community to keep Akeson’s family, friends and loved ones in their thoughts and prayers. No public memorial, escort or viewing was announced, leaving the department’s tribute as the first public marker of a loss that will be felt across Gallup’s law-enforcement community.