Council Rejects Sanders Settlement with 4-3 Vote

Austin, TX - On Thursday the Austin City Council voted 4-3 to reject the settlement offer of $750,000 to the family of Nathaniel Sanders. The proposed settlement would have ended the family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

Council members Chris Riley, Mike Martinez, Randi Shade, and Mayor Lee Leffingwell all voted against the settlement.

Council members Bill Spelman, Sheryl Cole, and Laura Morrison voted for the settlement.

Prior to the vote, Riley proposed a motion that the city offer to settle the lawsuit for only $500,000.  That motion failed by a vote of 5-2 with only Riley and Sade voting in favor of it.

The rejection of the settlement came after a lengthy debate on the issue.  Nineteen people signed up to discuss the issue including NAACP President Nelson Linder and Austin Police Association Wayne Vincent.

The family of Sanders filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in July of 2009 for the officer involved shooting in East Austin that killed their 18-year-old son. Adam Loewy and the Nathaniel Sanders' family told reporters when the lawsuit was filed that officer Lenny Quintana used racial discrimination and excessive force the day he shot and killed Sanders.

Sanders was shot to death by APD Officer Quintana while the two allegedly struggled over a gun outside an apartment complex last year. Officer Quintana was cleared by a grand jury of any wrong-doing in the shooting, but he was suspended by the department for failing to turn on his dashcam video recorder. Quintana was fired from the department in May for a DWI arrest.

The City Council will hear from city attorneys in an executive session before voting on the settlement. Mayor Lee Leffingwell has openly stated that as of right now he's not in favor of the settlement. Council Member Mike Martinez has also stated that he would like to see the lawsuit go to trial.

An internal investigation by APD cleared Quintana of any wrongdoing other than not turning his dashcam video on, but an independent review of the case, by Keypoint Government Solutions, showed that APD officer Lenny Quintana's use of deadly force was not justified. It also criticize APD's internal affairs investigation, which said Quintana was justified, for being biased.

The tension over the settlement of this lawsuit has drawn the ire of many and also the praise of some. Austin Police Association president, Wayne Vincent, asked around 2000 businesses to tell City Hall "no" to the 750,000 dollars it plans to pay out. The APA even sent letters to the mayor and councilmembers detailing their objections with the settlement.

Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder was pleased with the settlement, but said that you couldn't put a price on a person' life. Linder did tell FOX 7 that it would require a bit of communication and understand to help move forward from this issue.