Public hearing set in Las Vegas police shooting of Jorge Gomez
A public fact-finding review for the 2020 fatal police shooting of Las Vegas resident Jorge Gomez has been set for April 16.
Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said the 8 a.m. hearing at the Clark County Government Center will examine the facts of the June 1 shooting of Gomez, 25, by Las Vegas police officers outside the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse.
The shooting occurred at the conclusion of a Black Lives Matter protest amid a dispersal order from police.
In the days after the shooting, police said officers opened fire at Gomez after he reached for a weapon. Attorneys representing Gomez’s family dispute that contention, saying he was legally armed and not a threat to officers.
Rodolfo Gonzalez, who is part of a team of attorneys representing the Gomez family, said previously that Gomez was acting lawfully to protest police violence.
“He took part in the Black Lives Matter demonstration with guns on his person and a ballistics vest — all in compliance,” he said.
Videos released at the time provided more context to the shooting but, due to the low resolution, did not offer a clear or complete view of Gomez’s actions before the gunfire.
Jeanne Llera, Gomez’s mother, has said her son was trying to cut through an alley between the Historic Fifth Street School and the Foley Federal Building to get to his car when he encountered the group of officers stationed on the courthouse steps.
“He was just trying to go home,” she said.
A fact-finding hearing is held after the Clark County district attorney’s office makes a “preliminary determination” that no criminal charges will be filed.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.