Witnesses say they didn’t see armed protester killed by police pointing his gun

Multiple witnesses at the scene when police fatally shot an armed Black Lives Matter protester said Friday that they did not see the protester point his rifle at anyone.

But the witnesses also acknowledged that they did not see all the events surrounding the 2020 shooting of 25-year-old Jorge Gomez near the federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas.

That shooting is the subject of an ongoing federal civil trial stemming from a lawsuit Gomez’s family filed against the Metropolitan Police Department and the four officers who shot at Gomez: Ryan Fryman, Dan Emerton, Andrew Locher and Vernon Ferguson.

Officers who fired shots have testified that Gomez pointed a rifle at them. Lawyers for Gomez’s family have denied that claim.

Before the civilian witnesses addressed jurors, defense attorney Craig Anderson argued they should not be allowed to testify. They were facing the other way when shots were fired, he said.

U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware allowed them to speak anyway.

Witness says not threatened by Gomez

Daniel Gugel, who attended the protest on June 1, 2020, the night of the shooting, recalled hearing two sets of shots with a pause between them.

A detective fired a beanbag shotgun at Gomez before the fatal shooting, which plaintiffs’ attorney Dale Galipo has said caused Gomez to run.

Gugel said he did not see Gomez pointing a gun at anyone or holding a gun in his hand. Gomez did not make him feel threatened, he testified.

He acknowledged that his memory of that night is “hazy,” although not as to whether he saw Gomez pointing or holding a gun.

He was not watching Gomez when Gomez was fatally shot, he said. He was not testifying that officers did not see a rifle pointed at them, he confirmed, just that he did not witness rifle pointing.

Gugel attended the protest that night with Rayce Rayos, who told jurors he saw officers at the courthouse steps and recalled them telling him to “turn the eff around” and pointing some kind of shotgun at him.

“I believe I put my hands up and slowly backed away and turned around,” he said.

Officers gave Gomez the same instructions and pointed a weapon at Gomez, Rayos testified. Gomez said he needed to continue because of where he was parked, according to Rayos.

‘A tense situation’

As Rayos walked away, he also observed the scene playing out behind him, he said.

“It was a tense situation,” he told jurors.

Rayos said he heard what sounded like gunshots and looked back toward the courthouse. He saw Gomez running towards him, he said, but did not see a gun in Gomez’s hand or Gomez pointing a weapon at anybody.

At one point, Rayos watched as Gomez fell and then got up and continued running, he said. He recalled seeing fear on Gomez’s face.

Gomez still did not point a gun after the fall, according to Rayos.

Rayos testified that there was a second set of shots.

Ferguson told jurors earlier this week that he yelled “Stop! Metro police! Stop!” Gomez then turned his head and pointed his rifle at Ferguson, the officer said.

But Rayos said he did not hear that command before the second set of shots. Gugel said he did not hear it either.

Under questioning from a defense attorney, Rayos confirmed that he did not know if Gomez pointed a gun or what officers witnessed before firing the fatal rounds.

Rayos also said he did not think he was looking at Gomez when the second series of shots started.

And he confirmed he previously said at a deposition that he did not see Gomez for five seconds before the shots.

Pathologist testifies

Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist called by the plaintiffs, told the jury Gomez suffered gunshot wounds including a non-fatal wound to the face and a fatal shot to the head. The shot to the head was the most lethal wound and Gomez likely sustained it when he was on the ground, said Omalu.

“If not for the wound on the head, he may have survived,” he testified.

Locher said his impression was Gomez was pointing the rifle at Locher even while on the ground. He testified when he fired his fifth shot, Gomez’s chest was touching the ground or close to it.

Gomez, the pathologist said, was shot on the side and back of his body. He was not facing the person who shot him, the doctor testified.

Gomez also suffered a gunshot that entered on the inner side of his left hand, meaning it was facing the shooter and he was not holding a gun in that hand, Omalu said.

Omalu’s testimony was punctuated by graphic photos of Gomez’s bloody and wounded body. At one point, a juror asked for a break and the trial briefly paused.

Gomez would have suffered “one of the highest levels of pain a human being can experience,” Omalu said.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.