SAN JOSE, Calif. – In a landmark verdict that’s one of the highest of its kind nationwide, a federal jury awarded $21 million in damages to the family of 16-year-old Elena Mondragon, who was fatally shot by Fremont police over five years ago.
The seven-member jury found Friday night that three Fremont officers acted negligently during a covert operation in Hayward that ended with officers firing rifles into a moving BMW, killing Mondragon, who was a passenger in the car. Attorneys for the city argued to jurors that the driver, not police, was responsible for her death.
The city of Fremont will be on the hook for about $10.2 million of that amount, which would likely be the largest single payout resulting from a lawsuit against the city’s police department in its history. The man who was allegedly driving the BMW was ordered to pay the remaining amount.
