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A city in New Mexico has agreed to pay $20 million to the family of a woman who was shot by police. New Mexico has one of the highest rates of police killings in the country, and authorities are working to decrease the number of fatal confrontations.
Authored by Michael Corkery
Las Cruces, New Mexico has agreed to provide $20 million to the family of a 45-year-old woman who was fatally shot by a police officer from the city. This settlement was reached in a lawsuit that brought attention to the state’s ongoing issue with police-involved killings.
Teresa Gomez was inside a stationary car with someone else outside a public housing complex in the early morning of October 3, 2023, when a police officer came up to them and initiated a conversation.
Ms. Gomez was driving her car out of the parking spot when a police officer shot and killed her at close range. This incident led to a lawsuit filed by her family against the city.
Las Cruces, a city in southern New Mexico near El Paso, Texas, has agreed to pay a $20 million civil settlement, which is the largest in the city’s history and involves a population of approximately 114,000 people.
The death of Ms. Gomez led to the police officer, Felipe Hernandez, being charged with second-degree murder and awaiting trial. Following an internal investigation, Hernandez was dismissed from his position in May and is no longer employed by the police department, according to the city’s statement.
Ms. Gomez’s family expressed their gratitude to the City of Las Cruces for acknowledging the unfairness of Teresa’s death. In a statement shared by their lawyer Shannon Kennedy, the family mentioned their hope that the city will work harder to prevent other families from experiencing the pain of losing a loved one due to police misconduct.
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