Lobbyist, law enforcement officer dies after surgery

A longtime law enforcement officer and lobbyist who fought a statewide ban on cockfighting died today following complications from knee surgery.

Chris Jaramillo was 55.

He was at MountainView Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces recovering from the surgery when complications resulted in a massive heart attack, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported on its Web site.

Jaramillo was a registered lobbyist in New Mexico. His most visible client was the New Mexico Game Fowl Association, which successfully fought a proposal to ban cockfighting in the state until the Legislature approved the ban this year. It takes effect Friday.

Jaramillo ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat against Doña Ana County Commissioner Oscar Vásquez Butler in the June 2006 primary.

He was a retired state police officer who recently began working as an investigator in the county sheriff’s department. He also worked for a time as an investigator at the district attorney’s office.