Authorities in Las Vegas are airing information Friday about the death of a man who was carrying guns and wearing body armor when he was shot and killed by Las Vegas police outside a U.S. courthouse during racial justice street protests last June.
The same night 25-year-old Jorge Antonio Gomez was killed, and at about the same time, a police officer was shot and critically wounded in a separate incident on the Las Vegas Strip.
Friday’s public proceeding comes after a preliminary finding by Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson that the officers who shot Gomez will not face criminal prosecution.
Gomez’s parents have a wrongful death lawsuit pending against Las Vegas police and five officers — including one who deployed beanbag projectiles at Gomez and four who police said were headed to the scene of the officer shooting when they saw Gomez running, got out of their vehicles and shot him.
The officers were not outfitted with body-worn video cameras. Police said they were from an administrative training bureau pressed into active duty during the protests.
The public airing of information by police and prosecutors is a non-judicial proceeding unique to Clark County and Las Vegas. The process was adopted in 2013 as a compromise reform after officers refused to take part in traditional coroner's inquests due to concerns about civil liability.