Family of Police Officer Killed on Duty Wins WC Case after 2-year Fight

Raleigh, NC (WorkersCompensation.com) – The family of a Raleigh, N.C., police officer killed in a mass shooting was awarded workers’ compensation benefits recently after a two-year battle with the city.

Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres was one of five people killed in an Oct. 13, 2022, shooting in the Hedingham neighborhood. Torres, a former U.S. Marine, had worked for the Raleigh Police Department for a year and a half before the incident.

The incident unfolded in the late afternoon as people were gathering in the neighborhood like any other Thursday night. A 15-year-old boy, Austin Thompson, began shooting in the streets then fled toward the Neuse River Greenway, a popular walking and biking trail behind the houses, where he again opened fire. The shooting left five dead, and two injured. The shooter was captured hours after the incident, hiding in a building near the trail. The teen was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police said Torres, 29, was on his way to work when the shooting began. When his wife, Jasmin, filed a workers’ compensation claim with the city, it was denied in early 2023.

Earlier this month, the N.C. Industrial Commission ruled in the family’s favor.

“Officer Torres was not acting solely on behalf of a private entity and was not engaged in some frolic or private business of his own,” the commission said in its ruling. “Instead, at the time he was shot, Officer Torres was responding to the sound of active gunfire, an apparent violation of the law ...”

At issue was whether Torres was on duty at the time. Torres was not wearing his uniform, and city officials argued he was on his way to work instead of being actively working for the city. Additionally, the city argued that Torres was waiting for his wife and daughter to come home.

But attorneys for Jasmin Torres argued that Torres was on duty and responding to the shooting when he was struck by one of the bullets fired by Thompson.

Jasmin Torres testified she and her daughter were on their way home, and that she had called Gabriel Torres to ask if he could wait for them to get home before he left for work. Officer Torres told his wife he was already out the door. The call was then interrupted by gunshots.

“Officer Torres told Ms. Torres to be careful, that he loved her, and that he was going to ‘check it out,’” the commission said in its ruling.

Jasmin Torres later found her husband in his vehicle which was “parked in an odd and unusual manner, partially blocking the driveway” of one of his neighbors, she testified. Officials said the angle of the car would have given him a view of the neighborhood where the shots were coming from.

“By parking his vehicle in such an unusual way, Officer Torres was not waiting for his wife and daughter to return home but was acting in response to an apparent violation of the law — i.e. the sound of active gunfire within the Hedingham Community,” the commission ruled.

The commission ruled that the city must pay Jasmin Torres $321.48 per week for 500 weeks, or $160,740. Additionally, the city must pay an additional $321.48 per week to the couple’s daughter until she turns 18. The order was backdated to Oct. 13, 2022, and the money accrued from that date will be paid in a lump sum. The city will also reimburse the family for funeral expenses up to $10,000.

The industrial commission had previously ruled that the Torres family should receive $200,000 in death benefits because officer Torres was killed in the line of duty, and was murdered in the line of duty, a change in state law since the lawsuit was filed.

The suspect in the case, Austin Thomas, was charged with five counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. His trial has been delayed until 2026.

In October of 2022, there were a number of shootings nationwide, many that ended in police fatalities. That same week, two police officers were killed in Connecticut after being drawn into an ambush. Also in that same week, one police officer was killed in a shooting in Greenville, Miss., and another in Las Vegas, Nev., Police were injured in shootings in Decatur, Ill., Philadelphia, Pa., and Davenport, Fla.

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