Former California School Safety Officer Charged With Murder of Teen Mother
Eddie F. Gonzalez, who was assigned to a Long Beach, Calif., school, killed 18-year-old Manuela "Mona" Rodriguez as she fled in a car following a school fight. Police department policy forbids officers from firing at a fleeing person, a moving vehicle or through a vehicle window unless as "a final means of defense."
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The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has filed murder charges against Eddie F. Gonzalez, a former Southern California school safety officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez, the mother of a five-month-old boy, as she fled in a car from a school fight, reports USA Today. Rodriguez and two friends were driving away from an off-campus parking lot near Millikan High School in Long Beach, Calif., after a Sept. 27 fight with another student when she was shot. Officer Hernandez was later found to have violated policy that prohibited shooting at a fleeing person, a moving vehicle, or through a vehicle window unless such action is warranted as “a final means of defense.” Gonzalez had passed all his background checks and his required training had been confirmed before he was hired in January.
