By Jesse Jones — A Bernalillo County sheriff’s sergeant was killed Monday evening after a tractor-trailer crashed into his patrol unit during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 near the East Mountains, Sheriff John Allen announced Monday night.
Sgt. Michael Schlattman, a 13-year veteran of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, called in the stop just before 5 p.m. on eastbound I-40 near mile marker 170. According to the sheriff’s office, Schlattman was outside his vehicle when a semi truck slammed into the rear of his patrol unit, pinning him underneath. He died at the scene.
“This is every agency’s worst nightmare, and tonight it is ours,” Sheriff John Allen said. “Sergeant Schlattman was a servant leader and a protector in the truest sense. He was the kind of supervisor who never asked a deputy to do something he would not do himself. Our hearts are broken.”
The Rio Rancho Police Department is leading the investigation, with New Mexico State Police and the sheriff’s office traffic unit assisting.
The tractor-trailer driver was treated and released from the University of New Mexico Hospital. A witness told reporters the same truck nearly forced her off the road minutes before the crash. Investigators are reviewing that account along with dashcam and body camera footage.
Schlattman joined the sheriff’s office in 2012 and built his career in Special Investigations and Auto Theft. He also served on federal task forces with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration before his promotion to sergeant in 2024. At the time of his death, he supervised deputies in the East Mountains.
Information about memorial services will be released when his family is ready, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.