Press Release from The Paso Robles Police Department

Well, it’s finally over…kind of…

As everyone has heard by now, we were not able to come to a peaceful resolution with Mr. Lira. Our thoughts are with his family who is suffering a loss. Nobody should have to go through that. Our hearts also go out to the family and friends of the James Watson who was murdered.

As for everyone involved, Paso cannot thank you enough. From the dispatchers, officers, streets division, IT, restaurants who dropped off food, to the many thoughts and prayers we received from the community. Everyone pulled together to bring this situation to an end.

The real heroes are our spouses and families, whom we left in a matter of minutes, flying out the door, without being able to answer many questions. Leaving you to wonder. Explaining to our children what was transpiring. Undoubtedly, that angst will remain for years to come.

Now the real work begins as this investigation is in its infancy. Our department will be repaired. Broken windows fixed. Scars in brickwork will remain as a reminder of the dangers we face. But tomorrow is a new day. We will recover from this. Paso will get back to normal. We may be battered but are far from broken. We are Paso Strong!