Las Vegas police officers won’t face charges in Jorge Gomez’s death

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The four Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers who shot and killed Jorge Gomez during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Las Vegas last summer are said to be according to Clark County Attorney Steve Wolfson , not charged.

Gomez, 25, who was legally armed, was shot dead on the evening of June 1st.

According to the legal analysis of Jorge Gomez’s death, “The actions of Sergeant Ryan Fryman, Officer Andrew Locher, Officer Vernon Ferguson and Officer Daniel Emerton were not criminal based on the evidence currently available and subject to the discovery of new or additional evidence.” in the nature.”

Photos published by LVMPD of Jorge Gomez at the Black Lives Matter demonstration on the evening of June 1, 2020 in the hours before he was shot by police.

Gomez was approached by officials after another shooting occurred shortly before on Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the Circus Circus Hotel, in which Metro officer Shay Mikalonis was seriously injured. Gomez, who was not involved in that shooting, was near the federal court.

Officials said Gomez acted “suspiciously” and “mocking” rather than behaving like the “average protester” or “open-carry citizen”. Officials raised concerns that Gomez might ambush them, the analysis said.

Police said he ignored orders, threateningly raised a gun and tried to flee. The officers fired 19 shots at him and killed him.

LVMPD said this photo shows Jorge Gomez walking north on Las Vegas Blvd. from the police.

During the investigation into the shooting, which took place last month, a police detective said the video of the incident showed that Gomez did not raise a gun despite the officials’ testimony.

Wolfson’s analysis states: “In light of the foregoing, the firing officers all had a reasonable belief that the deceased could cause serious physical harm to themselves, their colleagues and / or citizens. Thus the use of deadly force by the shooting officers was legally justified. “

It also states that “killing is justified if it later turns out that the killing offense was wrong about the extent of the danger”.

Athar Haseebullah, the executive director of the ACLU in Nevada, released the following statement in response to the district attorney’s decision.

“I doubt anyone in the community is surprised that District Attorney Wolfson refused to hold the officers who killed Jorge Gomez accountable. Our attorneys will analyze the results of his office very carefully, but it has been clear for years that our current police accountability process is a bogus process in which the police investigate themselves and the DA Wolfson office simply closes the investigation. There are clear conflicts of interest in such investigations. By consistently failing to obtain meaningful accountability for police officers who use excessive force, prosecutors are sending a message that protecting law enforcement is more important than protecting our community. “

Athar Hasseebullah