Woman sues City and three officers for injuries suffered during police shooting in Encanto

Silvia Fletes, the 19-year-old woman who was injured in a crossfire of bullets from three San Diego Police officers after a brief car chase in Encanto, has filed a lawsuit against the officers and the City of San Diego.

Fletes was riding in the front seat of Jonathan Vasquez's car which traveled east on Imperial Avenue at 1am during the morning of January 13. An officer spotted the speeding car and attempted to pull it over. According to previous reports, Vasquez, then 21-years-old, refused to pull over. Shortly after, two other officers joined in the pursuit.

Vasquez reportedly pulled over in a dirt lot off of Brooklyn Avenue but instead of getting out, Officers Rogelio Medina, Nicholas Troncale, and Sergio Gallegos said he steered his car towards them. They opened fire, killing Vasquez and injuring Fletes.

In her lawsuit, Fletes claims that the officers used excessive and unreasonable force and should not have fired live rounds into a moving vehicle with passengers.

"At the time of and prior to the Defendant Officers use of deadly force, Plaintiff had not engaged in any activity that would give any reasonable officer reasonable cause to shoot her. Each Defendant present recklessly, wantonly and in conscious disregard for Plaintiff failed to follow the policies and procedures of the City, and the Constitutions of the State of California and the United States. No reasonable officer would have believed based on the facts presented that Plaintiff had engaged in any activity or was about to engage in any activity that would have permitted Defendant Officers to use any force upon Plaintiff."

Fletes claims she suffered "personal injuries, emotional distress and other damages." She asks that the City pay all medical expenses, attorney's fees, loss of wages and "earning capacity," and that punitive damages be assessed against the officers.