The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue honor guards stood watch as several dozen attendees paid tribute during a ceremony honoring four first responders who lost their lives in the line of duty two years ago.
The solemn ceremony marked the second anniversary of the BCSO Metro 2 helicopter crash, which happened on July 16, 2022. The crash killed the four crew members who had been flying near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The event was held at the East Mountain Memorial Wall in Tijeras. Attending the ceremony were those close to the crash victims, including Anita Beers, widow of Lt. Fred Beers, and Noelle Ashoo-Levison, fiancé of Michael Levison.
During the ceremony, Bernalillo County Lt. Kyle Woods accompanied Beers as she walked up to the Memorial Wall bearing her husband’s name to touch it. Woods, a classmate of former BCSO Undersheriff Larry Koren, could not hold back his tears and said that he came to the event because he and Koren stood for community and he can never let his memory fade.
“We were not only friends and classmates but the family as well, he’s not just a name on a wall,” said Woods.
Community members Tim and Cheryl Sheahan from Albuquerque came to pay their respects as well.
“We had to pay our respect, we just had to,” said Tim Sheahan.
In June, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled the crash was caused by starter-generator input gear failure due to flight fatigue. This failure led to a total loss of engine power. The NTSB said the engine failed ultimately due to poor maintenance.