EspañolLong Beach Unified School District Pays Record Breaking $13 Million in Wrongful Shooting Case by School Security Guard
Sahagun v. Long Beach Unified School District – 18-year-old Manuela Rodriguez (“Mona”) was shot by Eddie Gonzalez, a school safety officer for the Long Beach Unified School District. She was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle and as the vehicle attempted to leave a parking lot, officer Gonzalez shot at the moving vehicle in violation of LBUSD policy against shooting at moving vehicles and other policies prohibiting such use of force. Officer Gonzalez was not in any danger of being injured or killed at the time of the shooting. The occupants of the vehicle were unarmed and the vehicle had driven past officer Gonzalez when he fired twice at the car. One shot struck the rear passenger door and the second shot struck the rear passenger window, entering the car and piercing the front passenger seat headrest, and striking Mona in the back of the head. She survived the gunshot, albeit for a short period, and was taken off life support two days later. As a result of the shooting, Eddie Gonzalez was fired from his employment with the LBUSD and he was charged with second-degree murder of Mona Rodriguez. At the time of her death, Manuela Rodriguez had a 5-month-old son, Isael Rodriguez. She was a loving mother to her son and a loving and dedicated daughter to her mother, Plaintiff Manuela Sahagun Rodriguez. The attorneys fought hard and obtained a record $13 million settlement on behalf of Mona’s mother, Manuela, and her son, Isael. This is believed to be the largest settlement against any school district in the country for an incident involving a school safety officer.
