Family of 33-year-old man killed by Austin police files lawsuit against city
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The family of Rajan Moonesinghe, 33, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Austin and the three Austin police officers who responded to Moonesinghe's home in November of 2022.
The officer who fired the deadly shots, Daniel Sanchez, also faces a deadly conduct charge in this case.
Moonesinghe's family addressed the details in the lawsuit from the driveway of his south Austin home Tuesday.
"His bloody clothes were on the porch," his brother Mark said about coming to the scene that night. "There were bullet holes in the door. It was just a nightmare scene. Every time I walk to this front porch, I see those images."
Once KXAN receives a statement from the city in response to this lawsuit, we will add that information into this story.
The shooting
On Nov. 15, 2022, APD got a call around 12:30 a.m. about a man with a gun. The caller said the man seemed to be afraid of something and pointed and fired a gun into his home from the front porch.
APD said when officers arrived on South Third Street, they heard gunshots while still in their patrol vehicle.
“Both arriving officers then drove past the residence. The two officers exited their vehicles and sought cover while Mr. Moonesinghe, who was standing on the porch, continued firing a rifle,” APD said.
Officers gave commands to drop the gun, and then Sanchez shot him.
You can view police body camera video of that shooting here.
The department has previously said Sanchez acted in accordance with his training and APD "will continue to support" him.
The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas said Sanchez will be represented by CLEAT's defense attorney.
"CLEAT member and Austin police officer, Daniel Sanchez is being represented by our in-house criminal defense attorney, Brad Heilman. We requested a trial date be set as soon as possible and we stand ready to clear his name and reputation. Officer Sanchez responded to a call from the public and followed his training. Each day, our members go to work and face great danger and challenges to keep our communities safe. As always, CLEAT is prepared to defend our members as they deserve sound legal protection and due process."
CLEAT statement
The lawsuit
"We want change," Mark said.
The suit calls for things like additional de-escalation training and even incentives for officers who successfully do de-escalate situations. It alleges wrongful death on behalf of APD and claims officers waited too long to render aid to Moonesinghe. You can view the full news conference about the lawsuit below.
Jay Ellwanger, the attorney representing the Moonesinghe family, said a jury will decide on pain and suffering damages. The family's underlying hope is that seeking this monetary value will "put pressure" on the City to make the changes the family has been pushing for.
"This is our last ditch effort to really make this change happen," Mark said.
The family has fought this fight consistently over the past two years, showing up to city council and commission meetings. Moonesinghe's mother moved to Texas from Los Angeles to stay more involved in these efforts.
"It's very difficult, it's very emotional to get up there and talk about losing your child and telling your story. But I know it's something that I have to do," she said.
Ellwager said the city will have to respond to the suit in 30-60 days.
Officer's criminal charge
A deadly conduct charge holds a punishment range of 2-10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Probation is also possible if a person has not been previously convicted.
Just last month, a jury in a completely different case found a different APD officer, Christopher Taylor, guilty of deadly conduct in the 2019 death of Mauris DeSilva.
KXAN consulted a third party legal expert to see how that could weigh on Sanchez' criminal case.
"None of the actual evidence in Chris Taylor's case would ever make it into an officer's trial on any other deadly conduct case," said Austin defense attorney Ben Gergen with Gergen, Campbell and Hale. "Now, this is something that's very important when it comes to picking a jury. Specifically, as a defense attorney, I would really want to ask the jury on that panel what they thought about Christopher Talyor's case."