Paul Pacheco

Paul Pacheco is a career law enforcement officer who was born and raised in Albuquerque, graduating from Valley High School.

Paul began his law enforcement career working for the FBI in Washington, DC before returning to Albuquerque and joining the Albuquerque Police Department.

Paul served with APD for 27 years, receiving numerous awards and recognition for meritorious service.

Paul was named Officer of the Year in 1994 and Detective of the Year in 2003.

He was elected President of Albuquerque Police Officers Association and served in that position for two years.

Recognized as an expert at apprehending wanted fugitives, Paul served as a member of the FBI’s Violent Fugitive Task Force for four years and the US Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force for three years.

After retiring, Paul was elected to the State House of Representatives for District 23 and served for four years (2013-2017).

As an elected official, Paul was recognized as an expert on fighting crime and was even named MADD’s National Legislator of the Year in 2015 for his work on legislation to curb DWI in the state.

In addition, Paul also passed numerous bills to make our community safer, including:

• Repealing the law that gave driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
• Enacting the “Silver Alert” law, which helps locate lost elderly individuals
• Helped pass legislation to combat child abuse.

After serving in the legislature, Paul was appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Corrections in 2017 and then became Deputy Director of the Security Threat Intelligence Unit for three and a half years before deciding to run for Sheriff.

Paul lives in Albuquerque and has two beautiful daughters.