The city of Las Cruces, New Mexico has reached a $20 million settlement with the family of a woman who was shot dead by a former police officer in 2023, officials said.

Teresa Gomez, 45, was shot and killed in October 2023 after a Las Cruces police officer on a bicycle approached her as she sat in a parked vehicle with another passenger, they declared the authorities. Body camera footage showed Felipe Hernandez shooting Gomez multiple times at close range as she tried to leave.

The city of Las Cruces announced Monday that it has agreed to the terms of a civil process which was filed by Gomez’s estate, adding that they were in the “final stages of financing the $20 million deal.” The settlement is the city’s largest settlement in a civil lawsuit, according to officials.

Gomez’s estate was the plaintiff in the lawsuit, while the city of Las Cruces, Hernandez, the Las Cruces Police Department, Police Chief Jeremy Story, former Chief Miguel Dominguez and Deputy Chief Sean Mullen were listed as defendants.

“The parents, children and siblings of Teresa Gomez continue to mourn their loss,” the Gomez family said in a statement sent to the Las Cruces Sun-News, part of the USA TODAY Network.

“They are grateful to the city of Las Cruces for recognizing the injustice of Teresa’s death. They trust that the city will redouble its efforts to ensure that no other family suffers the tragedy of losing a loved one to police misconduct,” the statement added. . “They also hope that the criminal justice system will work efficiently and fairly for all parties. Even today, Teresa’s children can’t help but look at their children and long for their loving grandmother to be back with them now and in the future.”

Hernandez was immediately placed on administrative leave after the shooting incident and was charged with second degree murder with a firearm upgrade in January. Following an administrative investigation, he was relieved of his duties in May, according to officials.

Hernandez’s criminal trial had originally been scheduled for December, but was later moved to June 2025.

“The city will respect the criminal justice process and the outcome of the trial,” the city said in a statement Monday. “This settlement should be understood as a statement of the city’s deep sense of loss for Gomez’s death and the city’s condolences to his family.”

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What happened to Teresa Gomez?

Gomez was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Oct. 3, 2023, according to authorities. Hernandez was on bicycle patrol when he approached Gomez, who was sitting in the driver’s side of a parked vehicle with another person in the passenger seat.

Body camera footage from the incident showed Hernandez yelling profanities and commands as he threatened to arrest Gomez outside a public housing complex. In the footage, Gomez is seen opening the driver’s door at Hernandez’s request when Hernandez notices that the other passenger has a paintball gun.

Hernandez tells Gomez to get out of the car, according to the footage. Gomez initially resists and tells Hernandez not to touch her.

The footage then shows Gomez getting out of the car after Hernandez threatens to shoot her with a non-lethal weapon. Hernandez leads Gomez to the back of the car, where he explains that the other passenger has a warrant for his arrest and is not allowed on the property.

After several minutes of exchanges, exiting and returning to the vehicle, Gomez puts the car in drive and Hernandez fires three times into the open door, according to the footage. Gomez’s scream can be heard on body camera footage as the car stops a few meters away.

Gomez was transported to an area hospital where she died from her injuries.

“The City of Las Cruces has determined that the actions on the morning of October 3, 2023 were so severe that charges have been brought against Hernandez,” the statement said. “After the (Las Cruces Police Department) determined that probable cause existed to charge Hernandez with second-degree murder, the (department) filed a criminal complaint on January 9, 2024 against Hernandez.”

What did the process say?

Attorney Shannon Kennedy, who represents the Gomez family, originally filed the wrongful-death lawsuit in October 2023 and later filed an amended complaint in January to add punitive damages against Hernandez.

The suit alleges Hernandez violated Gomez’s Fourth Amendment rights when he detained Gomez, ordering her to get out of her car and show identification without reasonable suspicion or probable cause that she was committing a crime. A second count against Hernandez alleged that he violated Gomez’s Fourth Amendment rights by seizure by use of deadly force.

Citing the New Mexico Civil Rights Act, the lawsuit claims the city was responsible for Hernandez as an employee who allegedly escalated the confrontation with Gomez that led to her death. The lawsuit alleges that Story, Dominguez and Mullen’s failure in their supervisory roles to respond “to the repeated use of excessive and deadly force demonstrates that they allowed officers to use excessive and deadly force in situations where there was no threat of injury serious bodily injury or death represented by the subject receiving lethal force”.

The suit also claimed loss of consortium for the loss of meaningful relationships with her family members. Kennedy said Gomez provided her son with domestic services while she lived with her mother and helped care for her grandchildren.

The lawsuit sought compensatory damages “because Teresa Gomez and her estate suffered wrongful death, economic loss, funeral expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, loss of consortium; and attorneys’ fees, prejudgment and postjudgment interest, costs. , and the costs of bringing this action.”

Contributing: Justin Garcia and Leah Romero, Las Cruces Sun-News

This article originally appeared on the Las Cruces Sun-News: Teresa Gomez shooting: New Mexico city reaches $20 million settlement