Jurors in a federal civil trial in Las Vegas heard competing accounts Friday over what happened on the night officers shot and killed 25‑year‑old Jorge Gomez outside the Lloyd D. George U.S. Courthouse during downtown protests in 2020. Several witnesses told the court they did not see Gomez point a rifle at officers before he was struck, a direct contradiction of the officers' account, as reported by Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Officers say Gomez pointed a rifle
Metro officers on the stand said they saw Gomez lift a rifle toward them and fired in self-defense. According to Las Vegas Review-Journal, officers who fired said they discharged a combined 19 rounds in less than three seconds and one testified, "The weapon turns in my direction and now I see the muzzle coming in my direction." Defense lawyers told jurors those were split‑second decisions made amid the chaos after another officer was shot near Circus Circus earlier that night.
Family footage and witnesses push back
The Gomez family has released multiple surveillance clips and witnesses in court said those videos do not show him leveling a weapon, the family's attorneys argue. As documented by Nevada Current, a family attorney said, "He never raised a rifle," and contended that a less‑lethal beanbag round set off the chain of events that led to the shooting. Plaintiffs say the footage and witness accounts undermine the officers' version of events and drove the wrongful‑death lawsuit.
Limited video and no body-worn cameras
Investigators and reporters note the four officers who fired were not wearing body‑worn cameras, leaving only surveillance and bystander clips to reconstruct what happened. FOX5 Las Vegas reported Metro acknowledged the video provided to the family came from department evidence, and a detective previously concluded available footage did not clearly show Gomez raising a gun. That gap in direct footage has made jurors' evaluation of credibility pivotal.
What jurors must decide
The federal suit, brought by Gomez's parents, accuses the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and several officers of using excessive force; jurors must weigh eyewitness testimony, surveillance clips and officers' split‑second accounts. Las Vegas Review-Journal notes Clark County prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, and U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware told attorneys the case "turns really on a credibility dispute" as testimony continues. Local coverage and advocates say the outcome could influence questions about crowd‑control tactics, training and the value of body cameras in major demonstrations, a point explored in reporting by Hoodline.
