Eddie Gonzalez will be given his sentence on October 8. Pamela J. Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, told CNN that Gonzalez could spend three to six years in prison.
About four months ago, Gonzalez’s murder trial was thrown out because the jurors couldn’t agree on what to do.
González was walking near Millikan High School in Long Beach on September 27, 2021, when he saw an argument between a girl, 15, and Manuela Rodriguez, 18. Police say the school safety officer shot at the sedan while Rodriguez and two other people tried to get away in a nearby car. Rodriguez was hit while sitting in the passenger seat in front of the driver.
Rodriguez was taken to the hospital, but she died about a week later from her injuries, according to the office of the LA County District Attorney. She left behind a 5-month-old boy.
Gonzalez lost his job soon after because he broke the district’s policy on using force. Safety police should not shoot at someone who is running away, a moving car, or a moving car’s window unless they “clearly warrant the use of a firearm as a final means of defense.” After a month, he was charged with murder.
DA Defending himself, George Gascon said, “We must hold accountable the people we have put in positions of trust to protect us.” “That’s especially true for the armed people we’ve always trusted to watch over our kids on their way to and from school and while they’re there.”
Rodriguez’s family settled their legal case with the Long Beach Unified School District for $13 million last year. It was not a “admission of liability” from the Long Beach Unified School District, they said.
“I don’t know what to do or how to move on without my dear daughter.” “She was very important to me,” her mom, Manuela Sahagun, said at the time. “All I want is fair treatment for my daughter.”
Only five of the jurors wanted Gonzalez to be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which is less serious than murder. Seven of them wanted Gonzalez to be found guilty of murder in April. CNN was told this by the office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
CNN has talked to Gonzalez’s lawyer to find out what he thinks.
Gonzalez is being charged at a time when US school districts are discussing whether or not to have armed police officers in their buildings. Other people are worried about police misconduct and the speeding up of the process of sending kids from school to jail. Some say that having police around helps protect students from gun crime.
In California, all K–12 schools would have had to have at least one armed officer by law earlier this year, but the bill did not pass. This was done to stop school killings in the state. At the moment, California law lets school districts pick whether to hire or contract with security guards who are not armed or armed police officers.
There are also efforts in California schools to get rid of school police, who some people say are more likely to target Black and Latino kids.
A report from the American Civil Liberties Union of California in 2021 said that adding more cops to public schools could be bad for the kids. Black students were arrested 7.4 times more often and Latino students were arrested 6.9 times more often in schools with police officers than in schools without police officers. The groups were also told to call the cops more often.
A study from the National Center for Education Statistics in July found that about 45% of public schools in the US had sworn police officers who always carried a gun.
A former California school safety officer who shot and killed an 18-year-old woman as she tried to leave a fight has pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter, officials said Tuesday. This comes almost three years after he was charged with murder for the crime.
Eddie Gonzalez will be given his sentence on October 8. Pamela J. Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, told CNN that Gonzalez could spend three to six years in prison.
About four months ago, Gonzalez’s murder trial was thrown out because the jurors couldn’t agree on what to do.
González was walking near Millikan High School in Long Beach on September 27, 2021, when he saw an argument between a girl, 15, and Manuela Rodriguez, 18. Police say the school safety officer shot at the sedan while Rodriguez and two other people tried to get away in a nearby car. Rodriguez was hit while sitting in the passenger seat in front of the driver.
Rodriguez was taken to the hospital, but she died about a week later from her injuries, according to the office of the LA County District Attorney. She left behind a 5-month-old boy.
Gonzalez lost his job soon after because he broke the district’s policy on using force. Safety police should not shoot at someone who is running away, a moving car, or a moving car’s window unless they “clearly warrant the use of a firearm as a final means of defense.” After a month, he was charged with murder.
DA Defending himself, George Gascon said, “We must hold accountable the people we have put in positions of trust to protect us.” “That’s especially true for the armed people we’ve always trusted to watch over our kids on their way to and from school and while they’re there.”
Rodriguez’s family settled their legal case with the Long Beach Unified School District for $13 million last year. It was not a “admission of liability” from the Long Beach Unified School District, they said.
“I don’t know what to do or how to move on without my dear daughter.” “She was very important to me,” her mom, Manuela Sahagun, said at the time. “All I want is fair treatment for my daughter.”
Only five of the jurors wanted Gonzalez to be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which is less serious than murder. Seven of them wanted Gonzalez to be found guilty of murder in April. CNN was told this by the office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
CNN has talked to Gonzalez’s lawyer to find out what he thinks.
Gonzalez is being charged at a time when US school districts are discussing whether or not to have armed police officers in their buildings. Other people are worried about police misconduct and the speeding up of the process of sending kids from school to jail. Some say that having police around helps protect students from gun crime.
In California, all K–12 schools would have had to have at least one armed officer by law earlier this year, but the bill did not pass. This was done to stop school killings in the state. At the moment, California law lets school districts pick whether to hire or contract with security guards who are not armed or armed police officers.
There are also efforts in California schools to get rid of school police, who some people say are more likely to target Black and Latino kids.
A report from the American Civil Liberties Union of California in 2021 said that adding more cops to public schools could be bad for the kids. Black students were arrested 7.4 times more often and Latino students were arrested 6.9 times more often in schools with police officers than in schools without police officers. The groups were also told to call the cops more often.
A study from the National Center for Education Statistics in July found that about 45% of public schools in the US had sworn police officers who always carried a gun.
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