City expecting lawsuit after Las Cruces Police kill Teresa Gomez

A Las Cruces police officer shouted dozens of profanity-laden commands as he threatened to arrest Teresa Gomez, a 45-year-old woman sitting in her car on Oct. 3.

The officer, Felipe Hernandez, shot her multiple times at near-point-blank range as she attempted to drive away. Body camera footage shown at the news conference on Tuesday displayed as much.

"Anytime we do a news conference for an officer-involved shooting, it's a sobering event," interim LCPD Chief Jeremy Story said. "And this one will be a somber occasion."

A spokesperson for the City of Las Cruces said they expect a lawsuit as the investigation into a Las Cruces Police Department officer's conduct continues.

"We've also been in contact with an attorney for Ms. Gomez and, because of that, we've put some limits on what I can say," Story said.

The news conference shed light on the Oct. 3 shooting, but questions remain about what consequences, if any, the officer might face moving forward.

Hernandez, who was not named during the news conference but was named by attorneys representing Gomez's family, remains on administrative leave, according to Story.

Hernandez's body camera shows nine minutes before the shooting on Burley Court

Story described the nine-minute clip of a 19-minute body camera video as troubling before playing it for the gaggle of local media assembled in city hall for the conference.

"You'll see things that are hard to watch and hear the officer speak in a way that is difficult to listen to," Story said before playing the video.

The video begins with Hernandez riding up to Gomez, sitting in a parked car at a public housing complex on the 1300 block of Burley Court. Gomez is seated in the driver's seat while Jesus Garcia sits in the passenger seat with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

Hernandez tells Gomez and Garcia to roll the window down and leave their hands where he can see them. From the video, it did not appear that Gomez or Garcia were doing anything beyond sitting in the car. At Hernandez's request, Gomez opens the driver's side door. Hernandez looks into the car, his flashlight illuminating the car's interior, and notices Garcia has a paintball gun.

Hernandez then asks Gomez to step out of the car. Initially, Gomez resists. She says she doesn't want to step out and tells Hernandez, "Don't touch me," as he reaches for her arm, but eventually steps out after Hernandez threatens to shoot her with a Tazer gun.

Gomez complies, but as she does, Hernandez looks back into the car and recognizes Garcia.

"Jesus Garcia," Hernandez exclaims. "Holy fuck, you're back on the fucking property."

Garcia responds, saying, "I'm in the car," but Hernandez says that doesn't matter and says he will arrest him.

Gomez and Hernandez exchange words outside her car

Hernandez then walks Gomez over to the back of the car and tells Gomez that Garcia has a warrant for his arrest and is not allowed to be on the property. He uses several profanities throughout, such as "the judge already ripped his ass," before asking Gomez what she and Garcia are doing there.

Gomez tells Hernandez she'd just walked out of her home before Hernandez contacted her. He then asks Gomez for her name, and she responds with "Terry." He then asks for a last name. She questions him, "Why?"

"Because I'm doing a fucking investigation," Hernandez responds.

The two continue to talk. At multiple points, Gomez says, "I really don't have to answer this," and asks Hernandez to be nicer. Hernandez also says Gomez's car is undrivable, pointing to the ajar trunk door. He slams it shut and seems to recant his assertion about the car.

"You don't listen," Hernandez tells Gomez at one point. "You're just like Jesus Garcia. You want to argue all the time."

After about five minutes, Hernandez allows Gomez to return to her car. Gomez sits in the driver's seat as Hernandez asks Garcia for his date of birth. Gomez then starts the car, looking up at Hernandez. She puts the car in gear and begins backing away.

Gomez' driver's side door is open at this point. It's unclear if the door hits Hernandez, but Hernandez pulls out his gun and yells, "Stop, stop."

Just as Gomez puts the car into drive, Hernandez fires three times into the open door. Gomez's scream can be heard on the body camera as the car stops a few feet away. Garcia was later arrested on multiple warrants.

A search of court records shows that Garcia has pending charges in municipal court, pending felony drug charges, and a burglary charge in district and magistrate court, respectively.

What we know about Hernandez

Story confirmed that Hernandez remains on administrative leave as of Oct. 17. Story said Hernandez had been a police officer for eight years and believed that most, if not all, of those years were with LCPD.

Story also said that Hernandez had been involved in previous use-of-force incidents but had never killed anyone until Oct. 3. A review of court records showed that Hernandez had not been named a defendant in any other lawsuit against the department.

The city declined to confirm Hernandez as the officer.

"As Interim Chief Story said at the news conference, we are not releasing the name until the officer interview has been conducted," a spokesperson said over email.

What we know about Gomez and the coming lawsuit

According to her family's attorneys, Gomez was buried on Oct. 16.

"Teresa Gomez was a beloved mother, daughter, sister, and grandmother," attorneys for the Gomez family said in an emailed statement. "She brought so much life into the world; her family members gathered yesterday to bury her and are all at a loss at her life being snuffed out."

The statement described Hernandez' conduct as "an unlawful trespassing investigation."

"Hernandez used profane language, addressed Teresa in an aggressive manner and belittled her, threatening at times violence and at times arrest," the statement said. "As she slowly pulled her car away, Hernandez shot at her three times with no cause. Teresa Gomez had committed no crime and was a threat to no one as she slowly drove away from a verbally abusive officer."

The statement also alleges that Hernandez did not aid Gomez and said he ran over to his bike. LCPD policy requires officers to immediately help people they've shot so long as the scene is safe.

"We must end the callous indifference to life that pays no consideration to the human connections of family that we all have. Teresa's family urges the City of Las Cruces to immediately change the culture of indifference to life with improved screening of officers, improved training, and supervision that places the preservation of life at the pinnacle of concerns," the statement reads.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: City expecting lawsuit after Las Cruces Police kill Teresa Gomez