Officer Lance Hayhurst loves being a cop.

And with good reason. For one thing, he is fulfilling a life-long dream. For another, he’s good at what he does.

But the Artesia Police Department’s modest newest face focuses more on the former than the latter: "I honestly can’t think of any other job I’d rather have."

Hayhurst joined the APD as a patrol officer on May 1. While fairly new to the patrol scene, having graduated from police academy in 1998, Hayhurst is no stranger to law enforcement in general.

At the age of 19, he took a job with the Florida Department of Corrections and worked in a maximum security facility. Following that, he worked on death row in Missouri.

"It might sound a little strange, but I actually enjoyed corrections," says Hayhurst. "I got to see a lot of things that the normal, average person does not get to see."

A Portales native, Hayhurst returned to New Mexico as a Torrance County deputy and detective before making his way to Artesia.

"I enjoy Artesia," Hayhurst says. "It’s a very good community. And I especially like being able to be out on the street, in the public eye, serving the public. I like to go home at night and feel like I’ve done something for the residents of Artesia."

In addition to serving and protecting, Hayhurst lends the city another valuable skill as a DEA certified methamphetamine lab investigator.

A member of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force Meth Lab Team, Hayhurst and his contemporaries are re-certified yearly in order to ensure safety for both themselves and the community during the somewhat dangerous process of dismantling a meth lab.

"Once a meth lab is located," Hayhurst says, "we go in in the funny suits and take it apart and dispose of the caustic chemicals."

Drug use is a major problem in the state of New Mexico, Hayhurst says, along with DWI and domestic violence cases. Artesia’s gang activity is an issue for the APD as well. But Hayhurst praises Director of Public Safety Raymond Mounts for his direct method of addressing such problems.

"Chief Mounts is really wonderful to work for," says Hayhurst. "He is working on every one of these issues, and I feel like we’re out there doing the best we can with what we’ve got."

With most of his family living in the Roswell, Ruidoso and Portales areas, Hayhurst feels right at home in southeastern New Mexico. His parents reside in Roswell, where his father is a preacher. He has three children, two attending college in Missouri and one beginning high school in Florida this year.

As for his home life, Hayhurst says he is lucky in that the 2 a.m. calls to work, the long hours and the element of danger surrounding his profession come as no surprise to his wife, Wendy. A dispatcher, she is all too familiar with the lifestyle.

"I guess I’m one of the few men who can say my wife really, completely understands my job," Hayhurst says. "And it wouldn’t be what it is to me without the support system I have at home."

In his spare time, Hayhurst concerns himself with little more than his family and his work. "I guess I should probably be the poster child for law enforcement," he smiles. But he does have one diversion: dogs.

"I am the world’s biggest dog lover," he says. "I’m just a sucker for dogs. If I owned a farm, I would probably have about 100 of them." Farmless, however, Hayhurst owns only two, a Rottweiler and a mixed-breed, both adopted from the Humane Society and the pound.

After living all over the country and working in several states, Hayhurst believes he has found his perfect match in Artesia. "Artesia has been really good to me," he says. "I’ll be here as long as they’ll let me."

And with a true professional as dedicated as Hayhurst on the force, Artesia would be all the better for it.