EL PASO, Texas (KTEP) - El Paso City Council approved a settlement Tuesday in lawsuit involving the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man. Erik Emmanuel Salas-Sanchez was killed in 2015 during a mental health crisis. His parents, Celia Sanchez and Oscar Salas,sued the city of El Paso and officer Mando Kenneth Gomez. They alleged their son's civil rights were violated.
The city settled the lawsuit just a few days before a jury trial was set to begin in federal court. "The city manager is authorized to make the necessary budget transaction and the city attorney is authorized to sign all necessary documents to effectuate this motion," District 8 city Rep. Cissy Lizarraga said during Tuesday's meeting. The council voted unanimously in favor of the settlement agreement.
A city spokeswoman told KTEP city officials have not decided whether to publicly release details of the settlement including the amount of money paid to the family.
The jury was set to hear the lawsuit’s allegations that Salas-Sanchez death was the result of the El Paso police department's poor training and a lack of standards for dealing with people in a mental health crisis.
According to the lawsuit filed by Salas-Sanchez’ parents the police department operated with “near impunity.”