In the early morning hours of October 3, 2023, the life of 45-year-old Hispanic female Teresa Gomez came to a tragic end in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Gomez was sitting in a parked car with a male companion at a public housing complex when she was approached by Las Cruces Police Officer Felipe Hernandez, who was on bicycle patrol. The encounter, captured on body camera footage, quickly escalated.
The video shows Officer Hernandez questioning Gomez and the man about trespassing.
According to court testimony, Hernandez's tone was aggressive and threatening. After a heated exchange, Gomez was permitted to get back into her vehicle. As she started the car and began to back out, the open driver's side door struck the officer. In response, Hernandez fired his weapon three times as she attempted to drive away, fatally wounding her. One of the shots struck Gomez in the lung.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Felipe Hernandez was charged in January 2024 with second-degree murder and was subsequently fired from the Las Cruces Police Department in May of that year. The criminal case proceeded to trial, where prosecutors argued that the shooting was unjustified and that Hernandez had escalated the confrontation. Hernandez's defense claimed he feared for his safety and acted in self-defense. On October 30, 2025, a jury found Hernandez not guilty of second-degree murder but convicted him of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. He was taken into custody immediately following the verdict.
Separate from the criminal proceedings, the family of Teresa Gomez filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Las Cruces. In November 2024, it was announced that the city had reached a $20 million settlement with Gomez's estate, the largest such settlement in the city's history. City officials stated that the settlement reflected a "profound feeling of loss for the death of Gomez" but clarified that it was not an admission of criminal guilt on Hernandez's part, as his criminal trial was still pending at the time.
