By Misty Cryer
Much to his surprise, Bobby Sullivan, Region VI Drug Task Force Coordinator, received the New Mexico HIDTA Lifetime Achievement Award on August 7 for 50-plus years of dedication and service to New Mexico Law Enforcement.
Sherrif Mark Cage shared some words about the sacrifices the families in law enforcement make prior to the appearance of the Sullivan family. Lisa, Bobby and Marilyn’s daughter, delivered a speech on behalf of herself, her sister Meagan, and their mother to honor Sullivan’s professional achievements and to celebrate “the man behind the badge.”
Before starting his law enforcement career, Sullivan worked at the mines. “They had a big layoff,” he said. “I was in the last group to get laid off. We had just got married not long before that, my wife and I had. We decided we’d go on vacation,” he added.
While vacationing and applying for jobs, Sullivan ran across a listing for a deputy sheriff, and he talked with a deputy that he saw running some cows off the road who described the job as like a day working on a ranch and taking some serious calls from time to time. Sullivan found this appealing due to childhood experiences at a family ranch in southern Colorado. “He just described a little piece of heaven to me,” Sullivan said. When applying for the job, he was told that he had to have five years of experience.
After returning to Carlsbad, Sullivan went back to work at the mines, joined the police reserves with the Carlsbad Police Department, and started applying for positions there. “Ultimately, about four or five years later, I got hired,” said Sullivan.
He started his law enforcement career with the Carlsbad Police Department in 1974 as a Patrolman and took on roles as Patrol Sergeant, Traffic Division Sergeant, and Patrol Lieutenant.
With the State of New Mexico Special Investigations Division, formerly the New Mexico Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Sullivan started as a Field Investigator and rose through the ranks to the position of Gaming Division Director. “I was top of the peak, so to speak,” said Sullivan. This job took him away from home and involved traveling on the weekends to see his family, he said.
“My youngest daughter was barely talking. She came toddling up to me and called me Bobby. It didn’t really bother me much, but then she went to her grandfather and called him Daddy. That ripped my heart out right there,” he said.
To be closer to home and his family, Sullivan went to work as a Security Guard at WIPP until he got hired by the Artesia Police Department, where he worked as a Patrol Officer, Detective, and Detective Sergeant, eventually being in charge of drug enforcement for the PD.
“Back then, they had a task force; it was the Eddy County Metro Narcotics Task Force. Artesia PD was not a participant in that task force; this was back when Jack Childress was Sheriff,” said Sullivan. “Whenever Chunky Click beat him, then my Chief contacted the Sheriff and said, ‘We need to reform this task force and make it countywide and have all agencies participate,’” he said.
Sullivan said he was tasked with writing a Memorandum of Understanding to get the wording worked out for approval of the agencies. “It took months to do, but we accomplished that, then the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force was formed. That was 1997,” he said.
Sullivan served as Task Force Commander of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force initially, with the provision that he would serve for one year. He said that he didn’t really want that role, “In law enforcement, the higher the rank you get, the more politics you have to deal with. I had my belly full of politics with the state. I ended up staying 10 years,” he said.
Eddy County was part of a regional task force called Region VI Drug Task Force, said Sullivan, explaining that the regional task force included five counties in southeast New Mexico that are in the high-intensity drug trafficking area—Eddy, Lea, Chaves, Lincoln, and Otero. The Region VI Drug Task Force Coordinator passed away suddenly. At that time, Sullivan said he applied for the job and was selected for the position he still has today.
“Society has changed just in my lifetime,” Sullivan said. “I remember when I first started to be a police officer; generally, we were well respected. Now, so many people hate law enforcement and think that we’re a bunch of evil people. In law enforcement, I would love to think that all cops are good guys, but we have bad apples just like everybody else. We treat them appropriately; a bad guy is a bad guy. Sometimes, it takes a long time for us to ever find out about it, but we deal with it. In my career, I had to testify in court against two different officers. It was difficult for me; I knew them well and thought they were friends,” he said.
Sullivan said he has had officers hurt under his command. “The emotional side of it could be quite difficult to deal with. Certainly, as a Region Coordinator, I’ve had agents get in shootouts with bad guys. The emotional toll that it takes on the guys that are involved in that is unbelievable,” he said.
“The reason I got into drug enforcement and stayed in it for so long is, when I was in uniform and even when I was a detective, I dealt with so many people who were good people making mistakes. Basically, they are good people, and they should be treated that way. The one thing I was always prejudiced about was drunk drivers. If you were a drunk driver, I was going to put you in jail. I had seen so many families devastated by drunk drivers,” said Sullivan. He estimated that about 90% of the people he dealt with as a patrolman were good people. “As a detective, 30-40% of them were bad guys. When I started doing drug enforcement, I couldn’t find any good guys. Some of them may have a good heart or come from a good family, but what they were doing was still wrong, quite often evil,” he said.
Sullivan’s resume reflects that throughout his career, he has received extensive training, developing knowledge of New Mexico Criminal Law and federal drug laws. He has served on many professional committees, engaged in writing operational procedures, legislation, and grants, and has taught courses to educate drug law enforcement personnel. He also managed to engage in church activities and serve on community boards related to softball.
In the speech given by Lisa, she said, “Dad, your incredible journey is a testament to the values you hold dear—honesty, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to your family. As we celebrate your outstanding achievement, we also celebrate the man behind the badge—a loving husband and father, a loyal friend, and a true hero.”
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