The city of Las Cruces announced Monday that it reached a $20 million settlement with the family of Teresa Gomez, who was fatally shot by an officer.

The family of a woman shot dead by a former New Mexico police officer has reached a $20 million settlement with the city that employed him, ahead of his murder trial next year.

Teresa Gomez, 45, was fatally shot in 2023 after a Las Cruces police officer on a bicycle approached her while she sat in a parked car with another person, authorities said.

The City of Las Cruces determined the actions on the morning of Oct. 3, 2023, were “so severe that charges were brought against Hernandez.”