TAOS SKI VALLEY, New Mexico – A Hondo police officer was fired and a San Antonio police officer was suspended for their roles in a drunken encounter earlier this year with emergency personnel at a north New Mexico ski resort.
Then-Hondo PD officer Skylynn Cisnero and SAPD officer Taylor Thompson were off duty on the afternoon of Jan. 6 when Village of Taos Ski Valley Department of Public Safety officers were called to the base area of the resort for reports of two drunk individuals.
Thompson was described by one witness as being “super intoxicated,” according to body camera footage obtained by KSAT Investigates.
Village of Taos Ski Valley DPS officials released nearly two hours of footage to KSAT, following a public records request.
Thompson was seen in the video having difficulty standing and leaning on a ski rack to keep his balance.
Members of ski patrol were quickly summoned by Village of Taos Ski Valley DPS to treat Thompson for a cut on his hand. He identified himself as law enforcement and that he worked for SAPD, according to the footage.
Thompson repeatedly told a responding officer that he was “good,” even as the officer pointed out that he was not good and was seen knocking over objects.
Thompson began to cry as medics treated his hand, the footage shows. The off-duty officer eventually had to be helped into a seat while medics bandaged his injury.
‘Don’t f---ing touch me!’
Cisnero, meanwhile, was seen in the video carrying a snowboard.
She quickly began to verbally abuse officers who walked up to her, the footage shows.
“So, what the f---’s the problem?” Cisnero asked shortly after being approached by an officer.
She admitted to drinking two beers and repeatedly said she and her boyfriend worked in law enforcement.
“That man (Thompson) is SAPD. Whatever the f--- y’all go through, that man goes through more than f---ing y’all,” Cisnero told an officer. “F--- you, b----. F--- you.”
Moments later, after Cisnero approached medics who were treating Thompson, an officer grabbed her and tried to move her back.
“Don’t f---ing touch me!” Cisnero yelled, according to the video. “You’re not f---ing law enforcement. No, you’re f---ing not!”
Cisnero dropped her ski helmet, swung her arm in circles and struck an officer, the footage shows.
Cisnero was then handcuffed and escorted to a patrol vehicle in the resort’s parking lot.
While being walked away from the resort, Cisnero continued to berate officers and said that Texas police “deal with more s--- than y’all,” according to the footage.
“Probably won’t be law enforcement any longer because you just got arrested,” the department’s chief told Cisnero as she was being escorted out.
“New Mexico and Texas ain’t the same s---,” Cisnero said. “I’m not f---ing white. I’m f---ing Native (American). I’m f---ing Native. This is my f---ing land.”
After being asked if she had an ID on her, Cisnero responded, “B----, I’m law enforcement. What the f--- do you mean?”
Officers eventually found a ski pass with Cisnero’s name on it, but they were unable to get her to identify herself for at least an hour-and-a-half, the footage shows.
Cisnero’s claim
Cisnero could also not recall where she and Thompson were staying, but she identified herself as a Hondo police officer as officers prepared to load her into a patrol vehicle.
Cisnero again became agitated after officers told her Thompson was going to be taken to a hospital to be treated for his hand injury, according to the footage.
Cisnero also falsely claimed that she was the daughter of then-SAPD Chief William McManus.
“I promise you that,” said Cisnero, who mistakenly referred to McManus as “McMannin.”
“You know, this is f---ing sad that I’m law enforcement, and I f---ing spend a good amount of time away from my f---ing family. Shut the f--- up!” Cisnero screamed at officers as she leaned on the back seat of the patrol vehicle.
Cisnero continued to yell at an officer as he drove her to jail. In the video, she told the officer that everyone hates police and that he needed to drive the speed limit.
After a 34-minute ride to jail, Cisnero began insulting jail staff who were attempting to do a medical check on her.
Cisnero told one female jailer that she was a “fat, f---ing ugly b----,” the footage shows.
As the officer worked on filling out reports on the arrest, jail staff informed him that Cisnero was having difficulty breathing and would need to be taken to a hospital.
The footage shows Cisnero being wheeled out of jail on a stretcher shortly before the footage ends.
Cisnero was eventually charged with battery on a peace officer, a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico, and misdemeanor concealing identity, records show.
‘What I did was horrible’
Hondo police officials confirmed Cisnero was immediately suspended after the department was notified of her out-of-state arrest. She was then terminated Jan. 12, Hondo police said.
Cisnero had worked for Hondo PD since March 2024.
When reached by phone, Cisnero told KSAT she apologized to the officers after the incident.
“What I did was horrible,” said Cisnero, who added that she had let alcohol and stress get the better of her that day but is now a different person.
Cisnero confirmed the charges against her were suspended by prosecutors, a New Mexico legal term to describe criminal cases that have been paused while a defendant completes certain conditions.
Neither charge shows up in a search of New Mexico court records.
Thompson was taken to a hospital to get his hand sewn up, ski patrol told the department’s chief in the video.
Weeks after the New Mexico incident, Thompson was arrested on an unrelated family violence case in Castroville. He has been on administrative duty since January, SAPD officials confirmed to KSAT.
SAPD suspended Thompson 15 days in late May after they determined he was intoxicated in public view during the New Mexico incident and had failed to report to a supervisor that he had contact with law enforcement.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.