Gallup Vigil Honors Slain Navajo Tribal Officer Houston Largo

Family members of slain Navajo Nation Police Officer Houston James Largo gathered at the Gallup Police Department on March 13 for a candlelight vigil, the first of several days of mourning for a 27-year-old officer whose career in McKinley County law enforcement began when he was still a teenager.

Largo was a Navajo Nation Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty March 12, 2017. He was shot while responding to a domestic violence call in remote New Mexico. He had stopped a vehicle on a dark county road north of the community of Prewitt, where he was found lying about 50 yards from the vehicle with his duty pistol by his feet. He had been shot twice; his bulletproof vest stopped one shot to his abdomen, but he suffered a gunshot wound to the forehead. A woman who came upon the scene used Largo's radio to call for help, and Largo was flown to an Albuquerque hospital, where he later died.

Over 300 people attended the vigil, and organizers ran out of candles early in the evening before the event started, with officers rushing out to find and purchase more for the crowd. Among those holding candles outside the Gallup Police Department was Duane Gonzales, who held his young son Eliseo Gonzales throughout the service. The Gallup Independent, in a photo report published March 21, 2026 remembering Officer Largo, captured family members including one identified only as Taytum in the caption.

McKinley County Sheriff Ron Silversmith, who spent 30 years with the Gallup Police Department, said: "He paid the ultimate sacrifice. He loved what he did. When I got the call and had to drive out there, it was horrible. When I got out there and found out that it was him, it was even worse."

Largo's path into law enforcement was set early. His sister Tamarra said he knew he wanted to be a police officer as a child, and he joined the McKinley County Fire Department at 14, the youngest age allowed. He started his formal law enforcement career with the Gallup Police Department in 2010, then moved to the McKinley County Sheriff's Office before transferring to the Navajo Nation Police Department in 2012. He was a decorated officer who had served with the Navajo Nation Police Department for four years and six months. He earned the 2011 City Officer of the Year from the Gallup Police Department, the Lifesaving Award from the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and was named the 2016 Indian Country Officer of the Year. Navajo Nation Police Lt. Dempsey Harvey described him as a "go-getter" who always wanted to take calls.

Largo was Áshįįhíí (Salt People Clan) and born for Kiyaa'áanii (The Towering House Clan), originally from Mariano Lake, N.M. Council Delegate Edmund Yazzie, who chairs the Navajo Nation Council's Local Governance Committee and represents communities including Mariano Lake, said he had known Largo personally for decades. "I knew Officer Largo since he was in fifth grade and it saddened me when I heard of his passing. He was a bright, courageous, and loving individual. At a young age, he wanted to be a police officer to protect his family, community, and the Navajo Nation. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us," Yazzie said.

His funeral was held Thursday, March 16, at the Rehoboth Christian School gym in Gallup. Thousands attended, including 24 family members, as his parents, Maggie Charley and Albert Largo, placed a flower into a memorial wreath while his name was read aloud. Maggie Charley stood surrounded by friends and members of the Navajo Nation Police Force as her son's casket was carried into the Rehoboth High School gym. Family members were escorted by Navajo Nation Police officers Ferrell Begay, Custer Bryant, and Christopher Sloan, all of whom had worked closely with Largo at the Crownpoint Police District. Chaplain Mark Morris recalled the time Largo earned the nickname "Cookie Monster" before offering a prayer at the service. Speakers called him a hero and a Navajo warrior who had built "an amazing legacy" in such a short time.

Navajo Nation Police officers and McKinley County Sheriff's Department officers served as pallbearers, carrying Largo's casket to his final resting place at Sunset Memorial Park in Gallup on March 16. Gallup Police officers stood guard as the pallbearers folded the flag adorning the casket. McKinley County Fire Chief Jason Carlisle said the community would feel the loss for a long time, and that firefighters would remember it forever.

A suspect was taken into custody following the shooting, but no charges had been filed at the time of initial reporting, and the FBI had not released the suspect's name. Authorities had not stated publicly what led to Largo's shooting. In May 2018, his family and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety traveled to Washington, D.C., where Largo was among 199 officers recognized at the 37th Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol.