The city of South Pasadena, California, reached a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of actor Vanessa Marquez, who was shot and killed by police at his home in 2018.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Marquez’s mother, Delia McElfresh, and the city of South Pasadena agreed to the $ 450,000 sum, “in order to save parts of the costs associated with protracted litigation,” said the mayor of South Pasadena, Diana Mahmud, to the Times. Most of the cost of the settlement and litigation will come from the South Pasadena risk pool. All claims for the lawsuit – which included illegal entry, excessive force, violation of due process and unjustified detention – will also be filed at a loss as part of the settlement.
Marquez, best known for her recurring role on the television show “ER,” was shot and killed during a welfare check after police believed she was brandishing a gun. The police were called to the scene by paramedics, who were first alerted to check on Marquez by one of her friends. Marquez was having a seizure on arrival and refused transportation to the hospital. About 90 minutes after the police entered his home, Marquez aimed a BB gun at them, resulting in the shooting.
McElfresh filed the lawsuit in August 2020 against the city of South Pasadena, as well as the city’s former police chief and the officers involved, claiming that the police had caused the confrontation by ignoring the permission of Marquez’s paramedics to refuse the transportation to a hospital.
The lawsuit claimed that “Mrs. Marquez was shot when she was not facing the police, when the police were at a safe distance from her and when there was no imminent threat of serious injury or death to the police or others. “
In March 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office decided not to pursue criminal charges against two of the officers involved in the shooting, claiming that they believed Marquez posed an imminent threat to his security.