Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez.Photo: GoFundMe
The settlement concerns the civil lawsuit between the parents and the school district, which alleges excessive force, negligence and civil rights violations resulting from Gonzalez’s alleged decision to fire his handgun into a vehicle containing Rodriguez after he witnessed her having an altercation with another teenage girl.
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Officestated in a release at the time that the gunshot wounded Rodriguez in the back of the head, leaving her brain dead. Tragically, the mom of one — whose son was then aged just 5 months — was transported to a local hospital buttaken off life support a week later.
Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty
He pleaded not guilty to the charge in December 2021 and will face apreliminary court hearing on June 7, CNN reported.
On Tuesday, Rodriguez’s brother, Omar Rodriguez, said the settlement — which is not an admission of guilt from either the officer or the school district — was “step one of accountability,” reported NBC News.
Speaking at the news conference, he added “I’m really hoping that we get true justice. You know, my sister was robbed of that. We were robbed of our sister.”
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In astatement shared with local media, LBUSD stated: “The school district and its insurance carriers have been in negotiations on a settlement, but because we have not seen or ratified an agreement, we cannot discuss the details. Settlements like these include language that there is no admission of liability on the district’s part.”
The LBUSD did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
