New Mexico city reaches $20 million settlement in death of woman fatally shot by officer

A city in New Mexico has reached a $20 million settlement with the family of a woman who was shot and killed by a police officer now charged with second-degree murder.

Teresa Gomez, 45, was fatally shot in October 2023 shortly after a Las Cruces police officer on a bicycle approached her while she sat in a parked car with another person, authorities said. Body camera video shows the officer shot Gomez three times as she tried to drive away.

The officer, identified by the city as Felipe Hernandez, was charged in January and fired months later from the Las Cruces Police Department.