Thousands of people turned out to honor Hatch, New Mexico Police Officer Jose Chavez as his flag-draped coffin was transported from Albuquerque to his hometown of Las Cruces. A large motorcade of police officers from across the state and country joined in a 225-mile journey to take the fallen officer home for the last time. Officer Chavez was killed on Friday afternoon during a traffic stop, Breitbart Texas reported. The small-town officer was shot point-blank as he approached the passenger window of a vehicle carrying two men from Ohio who are allegedly wanted for murder. Following an autopsy in Albuquerque, a procession lined up to carry the officer’s body south along Interstate 25, through his community of Hatch and on to Las Cruces where he will be laid to rest. As the procession headed southward, people lined the streets to pay their respects to Officer Chavez. In addition to police motorcycles and vehicles escorting the body, firetrucks in communities along the route erected flag-bearing ladder bridges as a sign of respect and mourning. One observer told KFOX14 he was there with his children to show respect. “We feel bad for him, his family especially. His two young kids,” Lea Lucero