The mother of actress Vanessa Marquez, who was shot and killed in August 2018 when South Pasadena police officers responded to a wellness check at her home, has reached a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit against the city of South Pasadena.
“Any loss of life is tragic,” South Pasadena Mayor Diana Mahmud said Monday in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “However, I can now report the parties have reached a mutually agreeable settlement in the amount of $450,000 in order to save the parties the costs associated with protracted litigation.”
As previously reported, Marquez’s mother Delia McElfresh filed a $20 million wrongful death claim against the city in February 2019. The claim and the lawsuit that followed alleged “unlawful entry, unreasonable detention, excessive force and violation of due process” as well as poor tactics and overreaction by police led to the fatal shooting.
The lawsuit did not specify the amount of damages that were sought, according to the LA Times.
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In March 2020, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said the two police officers involved in the shooting would not be charged by the
Body camera footage from the incident showed Marquez was having what appeared as a seizure while inside her apartment. The footage also shows officers eventually retreating at the bottom of the stairs before they fired multiple shots after Marquez pointed what turned out to be a replica gun at them from the top of the steps.
Vanessa Marquez was best known for portraying nurse Wendy Goldman on the TV drama ER. She also had a role in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver.
