Frank R. Taylor died July 8 at his home in Santa Fe from diabetes complications. He was 77, his daughter said Tuesday.
Gov. Gary Johnson appointed Taylor in 1995; he led the New Mexico State Police until 2002. Colleagues remembered him Tuesday as an inspiring family man who cut a fine figure in uniform and was a persuasive advocate for the agency during what a spokesman described as a "transformative period for the New Mexico State Police."
"Chief Taylor guided the agency into the 21st century with a vision of modernization and excellence," state police spokesman Ray Wilson wrote in an email Tuesday. "Under his leadership, the department saw a substantial increase in the number of officers, enabling a more robust and responsive force to serve and protect the citizens of New Mexico."
Taylor's commitment to improving the department went beyond numbers, Wilson wrote.
"He championed advancements in training, technology, and community engagement, ensuring that the New Mexico State Police were equipped to meet the evolving challenges of law enforcement," Wilson wrote.
Taylor was a good public speaker and excelled at convincing legislators to allocated funding for weapons and vehicles, retired Deputy Chief David Osuna, who worked with Taylor for years, said in a phone interview Tuesday.
He looked good in uniform and was such a compelling speaker "it was almost like Frank just had to show up," to get lawmakers to back his proposals, Osuna said.
He increased the number of women officers, reinstated the motorcycle unit by purchasing a fleet of BMW motorcycles and increased the distance officers could live from their duty stations from 25 miles to 65 miles, Osuna said.
Taylor came from humble beginnings and worked his way up through the ranks. He was born in 1947 in Magdalena to "Frank" Taylor and Otilia "Tila" Cisneros. He was raised by his stepfather, Faron Gutierrez, after losing his father at 10 years old, according to an obituary published by his family.
A 1965 graduate of Magdalena High School, Taylor obtained a bachelor's degree in education at Western New Mexico University in 1973. He began his law enforcement career in 1971 at the Silver City Police Department, where he obtained the rank of sergeant before joining the New Mexico State Police.
He married Gloria Marie Gutierrez in 1968; they were married for more than 50 years and had a son and two daughters, according to his obituary.
Taylor valued family above all and treated his officers like family, Osuna said. No matter who he was speaking to, "His first question was always, 'How is your family?' " Osuna said.
Taylor was a "super boss" who excelled at recruiting and inspiring officers, retired Deputy Chief Roger Payne said in a phone interview.
When male officers came to him to say a new female recruit was struggling with a task, for example, Taylor would respond by telling the officer he was the perfect person to train the recruit and "hype them up" about their ability to help, and "they would make it happen," Payne said.
"He was extremely human, very touchable, very reachable, easy to talk to," Payne said.
Taylor was known to personally visit the families of injured officers and even stop in the hometowns of officers from out of state while on trips outside New Mexico, according to his daughter and colleagues.
After his term as chief, Taylor when to work for the International Law Enforcement Academy in Roswell, where he oversaw the training and education of law enforcement officials from countries around the world, according to his obituary.
In 2017 Taylor and his wife retired to Santa Fe, where he lived until his death.
"He was the epitome of a family man, even while being a state policeman," daughter Crystal Taylor said Tuesday. "State police was his family."
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