Attorney Rodolfo Gonzalez, of the Gonzalez & Flores Law Firm, holds a copy of a lawsuit against the Metro Police Department regarding the death of Jorge Gomez 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.
Friday, Feb. 19, 2021 | 7 p.m.
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An armed protester gunned down by Metro Police last spring during a George Floyd-inspired protest in downtown Las Vegas was not a threat to police, including the officer who first shot him with less-than-lethal shotgun rounds, the family’s attorneys contend.
The officer set off a “motion of events” that prompted Jorge Gomez to run into a “figurative firing squad,” said attorney Rodolfo Gonzalez Friday morning during a press conference.
This week, attorneys filed an amendment to the federal lawsuit to include Metro Officer John Squeo, who shot five non-lethal shotgun rounds from the George Federal Building June 1 to disperse Gomez, striking him.
Gomez then took off running, fell "palms down," got up and was shot seconds later when four Metro officers opened lethal rounds, striking him 19 times, said Gonzalez, who broadcast previously unreleased surveillance footage.
Police have said Gomez pointed at them one of two guns he'd brought to the protest. Neither of the plainclothes officers was wearing body cameras.
Nevada is an open-carry state, and Gomez was peacefully exercising his First and Second Amendment rights, the lawsuit says.
The family, Gonzalez and supporters gathered Friday morning in front of the courthouse to announce the amended complaint on what would’ve been Gomez’s 26th birthday.
Allegations in the 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 the night of his death.
The four officers who shot Gomez are individually named in the lawsuit, as is the police department. They are: Officer Ryan Fryman, Officer Dan Emerton, Officer Vernon Ferguson and Officer Andrew Locher, according to the lawsuit originally filed in August.
Soon after the press conference, Metro released a statement saying the department had released the new footage. “The video was originally obtained by (Metro) and is one piece of evidence that is being evaluated in the ongoing investigation,” police said. “(Metro) asks that anyone who may have video of the event please contact (police).”
Following George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, demonstrations decrying police brutality erupted across the U.S.
Some turned unruly, including the one in which Gomez was killed. That night, officers issued dispersal orders and set off tear gas.
Gomez, who was walking alone, made his way to the footsteps of the courthouse where he exchanged words with police. His family says he was simply walking to his car parked nearby.
Police at the time said officers had seen protesters with bats and confused Gomez’s long gun, which was swung around his shoulder, with one.
Noting the demeanor on video of Gomez and about half a dozen other officers at the courthouse, Gonzalez said Gomez was not a threat, and that Squeo overreacted in shooting him with the non-lethal rounds.
The lawsuit alleges that Gomez never raised his long gun at officers and that he was simply running away from the shotgun rounds.
The officers who killed Gomez were on their way to the unrelated shooting of Officer Shay Mikalonis, who was shot in the head and paralyzed on the Strip moments earlier as he was trying to break up another group of protesters, police said.
The killing sparked a series of protests from demonstrators demanding justice and accountability.
