The mother of “ER” actress Vanessa Márquez, who was shot by police at her home in 2018, filed a lawsuit against the city of South Pasadena on Wednesday.
The lawsuit, filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that paramedics were conducting a wellness check on Marquez, 49, when police increased tension after she refused to be taken to a hospital.
The lawsuit was obtained by NBC Los Angeles.
“This is exactly the type of lethal and unnecessary police action that has led many in the country to call for police reform,” said the mother’s attorney, Vicki I. Sarmiento.
“This was a situation where Ms. Márquez was at home taking care of her own business and instead of receiving assistance from medical professionals, she was shot dead.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office concluded that the two officers acted in self-defense when Márquez threatened them with a weapon, which was later determined to be a BB-type weapon.
Marquez played nurse Wendy Goldman in “ER” for three seasons.
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