Mayor Explains Hard Decision on Rejecting $750,000 Settlement

Thursday night Mayor Lee Leffingwell and the Austin city council, in a 4-3 vote, rejected a settlement proposal for $750,000 with the family of a man slain by Austin police officer Leonardo Quintana.  The shooting, which happened in May 2009 outside of an east Austin apartment complex, killed Nathaniel Sanders and injured Sir Lawrence Smith.  Officer Quintana approached a vehicle occupied by Sanders and Smith, and it was believed Sanders was sleeping.  But as Quintana got closer to the vehicle, the officer believed Sanders to have woken and that he was reaching for a gun.  That's when Quintana fired the shots that killed Sanders.

The event sparked outrage and a continuing heated relationship between members of the community and the Austin Police Department.  Earlier this summer, a settlement proposal reached the desks of the Austin legal department.  The terms of the settlement would give the Sanders family money in exchange for the family to drop the city and Quintana from a lawsuit.  Thursday, Leffingwell expressed his opposition to the settlement, but acknowledged several city council members supported the settlement.

The council eventually rejected the proposal, but by a very narrow margin.  Friday, Leffingwell released a statement explaining his decision and why he wants the case to be decided by a Travis County jury.  Here is Leffingwell's response to the community (photo from Statesman.com).

Last night the Austin City Council voted 4-3 to allow the legal case surrounding the death of Nathaniel Sanders II to proceed to trial.  I joined the majority in voting against the proposed settlement.

This was perhaps the most difficult decision that this Council has faced over the past year, and it’s easy for me to see how reasonable people would disagree about the best path forward.   I don’t condemn anyone's point of view, or their vote.

This was a tragedy for the Sanders family, and a tragedy for Austin as a whole. Unfortunately, nothing that we do is going to change that.   That much is simple.

But the facts of the case are complex, as evidenced by the different conclusions that different people and groups have reached after reviewing the facts as we know them.

I think it was reasonable, from the taxpayer's perspective, for the city’s legal team to have recommended a settlement that they believed could be less than the possible cost to taxpayers to move forward with litigating the case.  I understood the business case.

I also understood the emotional appeal of settling.  Some have argued passionately that this settlement would have helped to heal the Sanders family, and I do not discount the importance of that.   My heart goes out to this family.  If there was something meaningful that I could do to make this situation better for them, I would do it.

But ultimately, after thinking and talking about it for many months, I believe that what's most important in all of this is to understand as best we can exactly what happened that night, so that we can then do everything possible to prevent it from happening again.

It would be a huge failure on our part not to learn from this tragedy.  That should begin with determining, as completely and as impartially as possible, exactly what happened.  I believe the most appropriate place to do that is in the courtroom, in front of a jury.

I’m fully aware that my decision was hurtful to some in the community, and I regret that.  I would like to have been able to make a decision last night that would have perhaps provided some immediate relief to people who I know are suffering. 

But I believe that our larger and longer-term responsibility – as difficult as it may be emotionally – is to make a full, fair and final determination about exactly what happened, so that we can then get on to the work of trying to keep it from happening again.

Mayor Pro Tem Discusses Terms of Possible Shooting Settlement

Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez spoke candidly to AM 590 KLBJ talk show host Jeff Ward Tuesday about the possible settlement between the city of Austin and the Sanders family.  The city is proposing a sum of $750,000 to settle with the Sanders family, who lost their son, Nathaniel, after Austin police officer Leonardo Quintana shot and killed him outside of an east Austin apartment complex.

Martinez, who says he was on vacation at the time the city reached a potential settlement agreement, returned to learn about the situation.  After numerous discussions with city officials, Martinez said he reached his own decision, opposing the settlement and asking for the case to be tried before a judge and jury.

"I can assure you and the citizens," Martinez told Ward, "that it's not just $750,000 in the settlement agreement.  There are going to be provisions in the settlement agreement that stipulate that we can't discuss this moving forward; that we can't bring out conversations that were had in mediation; that we can't bring out information that was shared in the negotiated process.  That to me is inappropriate."

On the show, Martinez defended his position and his belief the city council will decide the right course of action.  "My decision... is based on what I believe is best for this entire community.  We can't move forward... if we don't fully vet this out," said Martinez.

Martinez told Ward the city is hiring an attorney to defend Quintana, who fired the fatal shots that killed Sanders.  Martinez points out the eventual termination of Quintana from the Austin Police Department because of a DWI charge, cannot be used in the trial, according to a judge's ruling.

Click the play button above to listen to the Martinez interview, conducted by Jeff Ward on the Jeff Ward Show, heard on AM 590 KLBJ Tuesday, July 20, 2010.  Content is edited.

Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez Investigated by Texas Ethics Commission

Austin Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez, who is likely the most recognizable member - aside from the Mayor, Lee Leffingwell - of the city council, is being investigated by the Texas Ethics Commission.  According to a statement from Martinez, several complaints have surfaced alleging misuse of money.  Monday, Martinez released a statement to The Austin Citysphere and said openness is the most important to him, and promised a look into the complaint and quick action.

"On June 24, 2010, I was informed of a complaint initiated by a private citizen with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) alleging misreporting on several of my campaign finance reports," Martinez began in the statement.  "The TEC processes all sworn complaints from private citizens and asks elected officials for a response – regardless of the basis or motivations for the complaint.

"We are in the process of examining that complaint and will take appropriate action on or before July 30 – the date requested by the Commission. While I am disappointed that there were any discrepancies seen in my disclosure, I am pleased that out of the over 600 contributions we received during the course of our campaign, our analysis shows only one correction necessary at this time.  Transparency is of vital importance to me, and I take this allegation, as I would with any allegation, seriously," said Martinez.