ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A former New Mexico State Police officer is working to earn the honor he says comes with wearing the uniform as an officer.

Prosecutors charged Isaiah Cheromiah with sexual assault last year. Soon afterward, his law enforcement certification was suspended.

However, earlier this month, the state dismissed the charges. Now, Cheromiah is on the road to recertification.

Cheromiah grew up on the Laguna Pueblo and started as an officer there. Eventually, he joined the National Guard.

“My late grandfather, Terry Cheromiah, was in the Army, so continuing that legacy was quite an honor,” he said.

One of Isaiah Cheromiah’s first assignments as a Guardsman was in Las Vegas in 2022. He helped with recovery efforts during the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak Fire.

In May 2023, one of his fellow soldiers came forward, alleging sexual assault during the deployment. The soldier claimed Cheromiah sexually assaulted her while she was asleep.

At the time, Cheromiah was a New Mexico State Police officer. He faced charges that his own agency filed against him.

NMSP and the military discharged him, on top of having his certification suspended.

“Just put in that guilty verdict already and judging a book by its cover, instead of sitting down and actually talking and asking what really happened,” he said.

Criminal defense attorney Lizzy Bunker took on his case.

“He said that this was a girl that he was kind of hanging out with. There may have been some flirting. But he denied any kind of sexual, anything inappropriate,” Bunker said.

Bunker planned to take the case to trial next week. However, she said one of the state’s pretrial interviews with an expert changed things recently.

“Her conclusion was that the woman was not credible, and this woman had a history of making things up for attention. And so that was concerning, and so the state decided to dismiss it after their own expert told them that we don’t believe this woman,” Bunker said.

Cheromiah says he hopes to be recertified and back on the job within a year.

“I’m feeling relieved and happy. I just want to move forward from this point on, put everything behind me and just look forward to the future and move on from all of this,” he said. “Any agency that’s willing to pick me up and really understand we’re all human beings. We go through trials of life, and just want to get back into it,” he said.

KOB 4 reached out to the district attorney’s office in Las Vegas for a comment on the case. However, we haven’t heard back yet.

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• New Mexico State Police arrest officer for sexual assault