I have 2 nephews who were in the NM State Police. Based on what they told me about their training and the fact that 1 officer can be the only “law” for hundreds of square miles I find this situation incomprehensible.
Down here in the oil patch, the only “law” outside the city is the sheriff and state police. I imagine they must coordinate to provide some bit of protection. Down here the saying “when seconds count, help is minutes away” should be “an hour away” and be prepared to be on your own.
I broke down on a Saturday morning a couple of months ago on US-285 north of Roswell (radiator blew out) and called a tow truck. I waited close to an hour for one to get to me and in that time there was no state police or sheriff who passed in either direction.