On one of Diego Sotomeneses’ first calls as an officer in the Starkville Police Department, he responded to a domestic violence call where the victim only spoke Spanish.
When he spoke her native language back to her, he said he saw the relief on her face.
“I walked in and saw her scared out of her mind,” Sotomeneses said. “When I started speaking Spanish back to her, she could tell someone could understand her. That’s how I knew I was where I needed to be.”
Sotomeneses moved to Starkville from San Antonio, Texas, in 2015 after retiring from the Army, and he never imagined he would be a police officer.
“I really do enjoy it whether I’m on the (motorcycle), getting to see kids, becoming part of this community for them,” Sotomeneses said. “You get to see the bad. You get to see the good, but you get to see (Starkville residents) and reach out to them. You don’t know when the opportunity comes to reach somebody on their worst day and help them out. That’s what I love.”
Sotomeneses was born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and came to the U.S. in 2000 as a 17-year-old with no knowledge of English aside from “bro” and “yeah, man.”
He eventually walked into an Army recruiting center in Miami, Florida, where the recruiter was Puerto Rican and spoke Spanish. Sotomeneses enlisted in the Army, eventually working in counter intel and with the Special Forces.
He said he ultimately learned English through his time in the military but also by listening to NSYNC and Backstreet Boys.
“I was raised in a Marine-based high school (that would allow graduates to become Marines) in my own country, but I was able to get a visa and come to visit the United States,” Sotomeneses said. “… The opportunity came that I could actually begin my citizenship through serving four years under contract. I was super, super happy throughout my military career to now – to know that I was in the best military in the world.”
Sotomeneses was stationed in Japan for five years where he met his wife Patrisha, a Eupora-native who was stationed there with the Navy. He said he never really got to live stateside until he got out.
“They sent me to work with (U.S. Army South), which is Southern Command,” Sotomeneses said. “Pretty much their area of operations is anything from Central, South America, Mexico and the Carribeans. Yes, there was Afghanistan and Iraq. I served in those wars too, but we were always going on missions down there – collection missions, whatever we were needed to do.”
When his time in the military was up in 2015, he moved to Mississippi with his wife and three children – one boy and two girls.
He said the move away from his time in the service allowed him to have time with his family and really get to know them as he spent about eight to nine months on missions in other countries while in the Army.
“There’s something about Starkville that actually attracted me – the people, the difference from a big city and it’s somewhere you actually raise your family,” Sotomeneses said. “My ex-team members, including my team lead, asked me, ‘Mississippi? What are you going to do in Mississippi?’ … Starkville has been beautiful because this is where I’ve actually been able to feel my family, get to know my children.”
Sotomeneses received a business degree from Mississippi State University and did contract work in Ecuador until COVID-19 hit and stopped virtually all international travel. In 2020, Chief Mark Ballard approached him and asked him to join the ranks at SPD.
“Chief came up to me one day, and our kids were playing softball against each other,” Sotomeneses said. “He was like, ‘Dude, I need help with some Spanish speaking for translating.’ I was like, ‘Everything you need, no problem. Whatever I can do, man, I’ll help you out.’ He asked for my resume and asked, ‘You want to be a cop?’ That’s kind of how I got into policing.”
He can be seen occasionally riding a SPD motorcycle or in one of the cruisers depending on the day. Despite his new role, he doesn’t forget what got him to where he is today.
His office at SPD is filled with his Army memorabilia and things he’s traded others for such as patches, coins and even a machete with his nickname, “El Padrino” or “The Godfather,” engraved on it, a gift from his Army colleagues.
“The biggest thing I appreciate (about) Chief and the department – and this is no sales pitch, this is from my heart – I’m able to do something in this job for the people,” Sotomeneses said.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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