Alfonso (Al) Solis is currently the Chief of Police for the Roswell Police Department.
He was the Administrator for both the Adult and the Juvenile Detention Centers in Roswell, NM. Prior to coming to Roswell, he served as the Detention Center Administrator for the Dona Ana Detention Center an 840 bed facility in Las Cruces, NM.
Mr. Solis retired from the United States Marshals Service in 1998 after a distinguished 21 year career with the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the country.
He held every operational position with the Marshals Service working his way up the ranks until he was promoted to the Position of Assistant Director, an executive service position in Washington, DC, where he was the Assistant Director for Investigative Services. For those that have a Military background this position equates to a three star general in the armed forces.
As the Assistant Director of Investigative Services he managed the division who is responsible for all investigative matters, such as Domestic Investigations, Major Case Fugitive Investigations, overseeing District Fugitive Task Forces through the United States and the International Investigations Branch whose job it is to work in hand in hand with Interpol and other foreign law enforcement agencies to locate and arrested fugitives overseas. His division also included a unit called the Electronic Surveillance Branch, whose job it is to provide covert investigative and intelligence support for U.S Marshal Service Major Cases and other operational matters.
He was then assigned to be the Assistant Director of Prisoner Services which included the management of the nationwide pretrial detention program for federal prisoners with an annual budget of $450 million and an operating budget of $40 million. As the Assistant Director he was the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Justice air transportation system called the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System or more commonly known as "ConAir". This is an airline run by the government.
Early in his career he served as an Inspector with the Witness Protection Division whose job it is to protect, relocate and provide new identities to people that have testified against organize crime figures and whose lives are in danger.
Mr. Solis says that one of the most notable assignments in his career was in 1987 when he was nominated by Senator Pete Dominic to be the Presidential appointed Marshal for the District of New Mexico. He was appointed by then President Ronald Reagan and served in this position from 1987 to 1992.
Mr. Solis started his career in law enforcement in the military, first as a Military Policeman and then as a Special Agent with the Army's Criminal Investigation Command.
Mr. Solis served in the Armed Forces from 1968 to 1976. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.
Prior to joining the United States Marshals Service he served as a Deputy Sheriff for the El Paso County Sheriff's Department in El Paso, Texas.
Mr. Solis is a native of New Mexico, graduating from Gadsden High School in Anthony, New Mexico.
He attended New Mexico State and has an AA from the El Paso Community College, El Paso, Texas
He also did a fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Boston, MA
