By Anna Roman
The Charlotte Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. — The family of the Raleigh police officer shot and killed in the Hedingham mass shooting has won their workers’ compensation claim against the city of Raleigh.
Gabriel Torres was one of five people killed on Oct. 13, 2022, in the northeast Raleigh neighborhood. The 29-year-old was not in uniform and was on his way to work.
A former U.S. Marine, Torres worked for the Raleigh Police Department for 18 months before he was shot and killed. His wife, Jasmin, sought workers’ compensation from the city of Raleigh, but her claim was denied in early 2023.
Now, two years later, the N.C. Industrial Commission has 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,” according to the commission’s ruling. “Instead, at the time he was shot, Officer Torres was responding to the sound of active gunfire, an apparent violation of the law ...”
The city of Raleigh did not respond to a request for comment or whether it will appeal the decision as of Tuesday morning.
The city of Raleigh is required to pay Jasmin Torres $321.48 a week for 500 weeks, or $160,740, and another $321.48 a week until the couple’s daughter turns 18 years old. The order is back dated to Oct. 13, 2022 , and the money accrued from that date to now will be paid in a lump sum. The city will also pay or reimburse funeral expenses not to exceed $10,000.
Vehicle position, last phone call
The decision came down to the position of Torres’ off-duty vehicle and a phone call to his wife before his death.
Jasmin Torres was on her way home with their daughter and had called Gabriel Torres to see if he could wait to leave for work until they got home. On that phone call he stated he was already out the door and the call was interrupted by gunshots.
“Officer Torres told Ms. Torres to be careful, that he loved her, and that he was going to ‘check it out,’” according to the commission’s ruling.
Jasmin Torres found her husband shot in his vehicle, which was “parked in an odd and unusual manner, partially blocking the driveway” of one of his neighbors. That position would have given Torres a view down Osprey Cove Drive toward Blckwolf Run Lane , which was the general direction of the gunshots.
“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 ,” according to the commission’s ruling.
The Industrial Commission previously ruled that Jasmin Torres should receive $200,000 in death benefits because Gabriel Torres not only died in the line of duty but was murdered in the line of duty, under a change in the Public Safety Employees’ Death Benefits Act.
The suspect in the case, Austin Thomas , is charged with five counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. His trial was set to begin this year but has been delayed until 2026.
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