Mistrial for Long Beach school cop who killed girl, 18

Jurors deadlock over convicting ex-officer of manslaughter or murder for fatally shooting fleeing teen.

Throughout the oneweek trial of Eddie F. Gonzalez, prosecutors painted the former Long Beach school officer as a wannabe cop who wildly overreacted to a minor fight between girls and turned it into a lethal situation.

Gonzalez’s attorneys — defending him for shooting 18-year-old Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez in the back of the head as she fled the scene of the incident — called the 2021 killing a “tragedy, but not a crime.”

But the jurors deciding Gonzalez’s fate deadlocked on Tuesday, seemingly split not by the dueling narratives presented in court, but over whether the defendant was guilty of murder or manslaughter.

The jury had the option to convict him on the lesser charge if they determined he had killed Rodriguez in an act legally defined as “imperfect self-defense.”

Seven jurors said Tuesday that they were ready to convict Gonzalez, 51, of murder, but five said they could only convict him of voluntary manslaughter.

Jurors had asked Monday whether if they could consider a charge of involuntary manslaughter, but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard Goul said they could not.

Prosecutors could decide to retry the case.

“While we are disappointed that the jury did not reach a verdict, we will carefully review the proceedings and consider our options moving forward,” Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement. “Our commitment to seeking justice for the victim and their family remains steadfast.”

On the day of the shooting in September 2021, Gonzalez responded to a report of a fight between Rodriguez and a 15-year-old girl outside Millikan High School.

The officer threatened to pepper-spray both girls, and after the brawling parties were separated, Rodriguez ran to her boyfriend’s car.

Gonzalez ordered the pair to stop and ran alongside the car, but the vehicle’s tires began to screech as it drove away from the officer, according to video from the scene.

Gonzalez fired two shots at the car, one when he was clearly standing behind the vehicle, and struck Rodriguez in the head.

She suffered severe brain damage and was taken off life support a week later, leaving behind a 5-monthold son.

“This defendant responded to youthful disobedience with deadly force,” L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Lee Orquiola said in his closing arguments. “He was the adult in this situation. He was supposed to be the responsible one. The one making the right decisions.”

Prosecutors said several witnesses, including a girl who filmed the deadly encounter, could also have been harmed by Gonzalez’s shots.

Orquiola said Gonzalez should have simply taken a report and written down the license plate of the vehicle so Long Beach police could make an arrest later.

Instead, prosecutors said, Gonzalez acted recklessly and responded to a threat that didn’t exist.

“That first shot, he is not in danger, at all, and he fires at close range,” Orquiola said. “Second shot, he’s even more out of the danger — that car is driving away and he fires again.”

Video of the shooting drew widespread outrage and protests. Long Beach school officials moved quickly to fire Gonzalez, and then-Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia called on Gascón to immediately file charges against the officer.

Defense lawyer Michael Schwartz argued that because the entire incident lasted less than two seconds, it was too short of a window for Gonzalez to form the intent required to validate a murder charge.

Schwartz told jurors they had to put themselves in the officer’s shoes, and criticized prosecutors for using stillframe images and slow-motion replays of the video to evaluate Gonzalez’s actions. Evidence at trial indicated that only 0.3 seconds had elapsed between the two gunshots.

“This didn’t happen in slow motion,” Schwartz said. “Life doesn’t happen in slow motion.”

He argued that his client was so close to the car that he had a reasonable belief he could be struck.

On Tuesday, Schwartz said it was time for the district attorney’s office to let the case go.

“At this point, a jury of 12 people heard all the evidence and did not convict,” he said. “It’s been 2.5 years since this incident; the civil case was settled. We’re hopeful that Mr. Gascón will let everyone move on.”

Last year, the Long Beach Unified School District settled a wrongfuldeath lawsuit filed by Rodriguez’s family for $13 million.

Gonzalez, after spending decades as a cable repairman, began working in law enforcement in 2015 as a reserve Orange County deputy, his family said in court filings.

He was hired by both the Los Alamitos and Sierra Madre police departments in 2019, but left both jobs within months. Officials with the departments would not say why.

Gonzalez did not testify at trial, so prosecutors could not inquire about his law enforcement history before he started working as a Long Beach school safety officer.