Jeanne Llera, mother of Jorge Gomez, responds to a question about her son’s death during a news conference at the Lloyd George Federal Courthouse in downtown Las Vegas Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Gomez was shot and killed by Metro Police officers in front of the courthouse during a George Floyd protest on June 1, 2020.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020 | 8:45 p.m.
Adequate training would’ve prevented a series of events that ended in the shooting death of a protester at the hands of Metro Police officers as a George Floyd-inspired protest ended last month, his family alleges in a federal lawsuit to be filed this week.
Jorge Gomez’s family, a team of lawyers and community activists gathered Wednesday on the steps of the Lloyd George Federal Courthouse, near where officers gunned him down, to not only announce the legal action against Metro, but to share messages of “who he is and who he was not.”
Allegations in the 21-page complaint include excessive use of force, negligence and wrongful death, accusing Metro of failing to train its officers and denying medical care to a wounded Gomez, 25, the night of his death, according to attorney Rodolfo Gonzalez. The four officers who opened fire are individually named in the lawsuit.
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Rivaling narratives emerged following the shooting in downtown Las Vegas, after police ordered the rowdy protest dispersed late on June 1.
Gomez, who was open-carrying two guns, approached officers standing atop the federal courthouses steps, where he was ordered to leave before one of them hit him with bean bags, Metro said. Subsequently, as Gomez ran away, four officers who were driving by got out and opened fire when he pointed a long gun at them. Since the Metro officers weren’t regular patrol officers, they weren’t required to wear body cameras.
Metro only provided a grainy, short video that shows an officer confront Gomez at the steps before he is seen running away.
The officers who shot Gomez were on their way to the unrelated shooting of Officer Shay Mikalonis, who was shot in the head on the Strip while trying to break up another group of protesters, police said.
Investigators found two loaded guns on Gomez and one concealed in his backpack. He was also wearing a tactical vest. Police said he didn’t fire any rounds.
Gomez’s family and their legal team see the video in another light.
Gomez was leaving the protest and was harassed as he was walking toward his car, they allege. His last message to his father, a K9 security officer, was moments before the shooting, and said, “Father, I’m on my way to go pick you up,” attorney Edgar Flores said.
The elder Gomez, who was at work, had loaned his son the car that day and was waiting to be picked up. He never made it.
A staunch supporter of the First and Second Amendments, Gomez was exercising his right to protest and open-carry, they said.
Investigators only spoke to the family once shortly after the shooting, they said. Metro initially said Gomez was growing increasingly radicalized and that his family had expressed concern. His family contends that was not the case and that they were only concerned for his safety at the protest.
They describe Gomez as an amiable and kind person who displayed his true nature when he hugged a woman at the same rally. She was protesting her son’s death by Metro officers. Carol Luke told the Sun that Gomez told her to keep telling her son’s story.
On his Facebook page, Gomez published anti-Donald Trump messages and wrote about the police brutality protests. He posted a vague message of a revolution.
Gomez’s family is also demanding that Metro release more footage, noting that at least a dozen cameras surround the area where their loved one was slain.
They say their attempts to obtain further video or investigative documents from Metro and the other local police agencies have been futile. They have also tried contacting federal officials to see which agencies might’ve been at the protest, they said.
“It appears that if you want to get some type of justice, some transparency, a lawsuit is the only thing that will get them to do that,” Flores, the attorney, said.
Metro officer shootings require those involved go through two reviews that could take months. One looks at any possible criminal activity against the officers, and the other scrutinizes the policies, whether they were followed, or if they need to be amended.
Metro spokesman Larry Hadfield said the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation and didn’t offer any updates on the investigation.
“There has to be better training and accountability,” Flores said. “Law enforcement needs to know that they can hold themselves accountable and that it’s OK ... that is how you gain the trust of the community, when you hold each other accountable.”
The lawsuit is “larger than us,” said Flores, noting that it wasn’t only about Gomez or even Floyd, but “every single person that’s lost their life and they didn’t get their time in front of the camera ... and nobody screamed (their) name on the street like we’re doing today.”
Those present at the news conference Wednesday wore themed T-shirts demanding justice for Gomez and held black-and-white copies of a portrait showing him smiling. Posters showcased him at various stages of his life. Gomez loved avocados, so family members and lawyers wore green avocado-themed face coverings.
Jeanne Llera took to the microphone to describe her son. She said Gomez, who was born in Orlando, Florida, knew Las Vegas from several years ago when the family relocated after his father got a job here when he was a child.
After graduating high school in Orlando, he was itching to go back West. He eventually moved to Oregon and got two jobs as he waited to go back to school to be a veterinary pathologist. Gomez lost both jobs when the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S.
He moved to Las Vegas to be with his father. And then he saw the footage of a Minneapolis police officer digging his knee into George Floyd’s neck while Floyd pleaded that he couldn’t breathe, they said. The death sparked nationwide protests, even in the middle of a pandemic, and they occurred here, too.
Gomez grabbed his guns and hit the streets in protest at least once before the night he was killed, police and family said.
Llera said the family wants Metro to be transparent about why they shot her son, noting that she’s not asking them for a “miracle” in bringing him back to life.
“I just wish,” she said, her voice trailing as she began to cry.
