Vanessa Marquez is best known for her role as nurse Wendy Goldman on the NBC drama “ER.” But in August of 2018, the actress was shot and killed by police in South Pasadena. Now, her mother, Delia McElfresh, is filing a wrongful death lawsuit on her daughter's behalf.
Officials at the time told CNN they were called to Marquez’s home and found her having a seizure and possibly suffering from mental issues. The lawsuit disputes that.
Woman fatally shot by So Pasadena Police yesterday ID'd as actress Vanessa Marquez. LASD says cops & mental health worker doing welfare check tried to convince Marquez (who'd had seizures) to get med care. She allegedly grabbed BB gun that looked like semi-auto, pointed at cops pic.twitter.com/UhUJJCTMcB
— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia)
August 31, 2018 "This is exactly the kind of lethal and unnecessary police action that has led so many in the country to call out for police reform,'' Vicki I. Sarmiento, a civil rights attorney specializing in police cases said. "This was a situation in which Ms. Marquez was in her home minding her own business and instead of receiving assistance from medical professionals, she was shot to death.''
According to the officers after trying to offer Marquez medical help, she armed herself with what investigators later learned was a BB gun, and officers opened fire in self-defense, and shot Marquez to death.
