Former California school safety officer Eddie Gonzalez pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Manuela Rodriguez near a Long Beach high school in 2021. Rodriguez, who was a mother to a 5-month-old baby, was killed in September 2021, sparking outrage in the community. The case went to trial but ended in a mistrial earlier this year. Gonzalez will be sentenced to either three or six years in prison under a plea agreement. The incident occurred when Gonzalez, driving a school safety vehicle, saw Rodriguez engaged in a physical altercation with a 15-year-old girl. When Rodriguez tried to flee in a sedan, Gonzalez shot at the vehicle, resulting in her death a week later. He was terminated from the school district the same day. The district’s use of force policy prohibits firing at a fleeing person or through a vehicle window unless necessary. Gonzalez claimed self-defense, but a mistrial was declared in April after jurors were deadlocked. In April 2023, Rodriguez’s family received a $13 million settlement from the school district, although the district did not admit liability. Overall, Gonzalez’s plea deal and the settlement highlight the tragic consequences of the shooting and the legal proceedings that followed.
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