Family of Teen Fatally Shot by School Cop Announces $13 Million Settlement
Written by SOURCE on April 5, 2023
A $13 million settlement has been announced in connection with a wrongful death lawsuit filed over the fatal shooting of a California teen by a school resource officer.
Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez, 18, was struck in the head when Long Beach Unified School District safety officer Eddie Gonzalez fired into a car in which she was a passenger in September 2021. As previously reported, Rodriguez was later taken off life support days after the shooting. Gonzalez, meanwhile, was fired for having violated a use-of-force policy and was ultimately charged with murder. He is currently out on bond after pleading not guilty.
“It’s been the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, that’s for sure,” Mona’s brother, Oscar Rodriguez, said in a KTLA-covered press conference this week. “I miss my sister. There’s no money, nothing in this world that would ever replace that.”
Per a report from the Associated Press, the $13 million settlement brings an end to proceedings over a wrongful death lawsuit the family had filed in 2021. In a statement excerpted by the publication, a school district spokesperson said they had not “seen or ratified an agreement” at the time. The rep shared condolences for the family and also said that settlements of this nature “include language that there is no admission of liability.”
Complex has reached out to the family’s legal team and to school district reps for additional comment. This story may be updated.
When initially announcing the murder charge in October 2021, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said it was integral to hold those accountable who work in “positions of trust” like Gonzalez.
“That is especially true for the armed personnel we traditionally have relied upon to guard our children on their way to and from and at school,” Gascón said at the time.
Per Gascón’s office, Gonzalez fired a handgun into a car Rodriguez was riding after he “noticed an altercation” between her and another teen girl. At the time of her death, Rodriguez left behind a five-month-old child.
