Nogales Says Goodbye To Officer Killed In The Line Of Duty

NOGALES, AZ – By the time that mass started on Saturday morning, approximately 2,000 people had crammed in the auditorium at Nogales High School. They were there to say farewell to Officer Jesus "Chuy" Cordova.

Cordova was shot and killed on April 27th while on the line of duty.

After the service – Cordova's widow, Alyssa, was the last to speak – people gathered in the school's courtyard where there was a flyover of helicopters, the playing of taps, and a salute with rifles.

The man accused of killing him – David Murillo – now faces 39 charges including first-degree murder. Murillo is being held without bail. (Get Tucson Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe).

It was 2:41 last Friday on April 27th and Cordova was one of the officers who responded to the report of a carjacking not far from the Mariposa Manor Trailer Park.

As he arrived, he saw the car in question start to drive away and he attempted to stop it.

Gunfire was exchanged.

When other officers arrived at the scene, they found Cordova shot. His patrol car had been shot up. The windshield had three bullet holes, the windows on the driver's side had both been shot out. There was at least one shot that had gone through the body of the car.

Cordova was brought to Nogales Fire Department Station 2. A helicopter arrived to fly him to Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson. The helicopter had to turn around when medical personnel became concerned that the flight would be too much.

Cordova was rushed to Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales where he died.

Cordova was 44-years-old and had grown up in Nogales. He played football at Nohales High School. He joined the police department last year after 11 years with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

"If he could do it all over again I know that he would, his wife, Alyssa, told the crowd at the vigil. "That's just who he was. He loved to serve. He loved to serve his people. He loved to serve his family.

"He loved to serve his community."

The couple had three children with a fourth on the way.

He is the first Nogales Police Officer killed in the line of duty since 1888.

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Photo via Nogales Police Department.