The Moonesinghe family has launched a $100 million lawsuit against the City of Austin and three of its police officers following the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Rajan Moonesinghe by the Austin Police Department (APD) in November 2022. According to a statement obtained by KVUE, the family's legal action also demands significant reforms of the APD's training and oversight, aimed at preventing future tragedies.
Mark Moonesinghe, Rajan's brother, expressed the family's anguish and newfound purpose amidst the lawsuit, emphasizing, "This tragedy really changed all of our lives and [gave] us new purpose and a fight for something that up to this point we've never even known existed." In another emotional memory shared with FOX 7 Austin, Rajan’s mother, Ruth Moonesinghe said, "Rajan was this quiet guy who would walk into the room and look around, and he would walk up to the person who needed something."
On the early morning of November 15, 2022, the APD responded to a 911 call about a man with a rifle outside his home. Body camera footage showed Officer Daniel Sanchez instructing Moonesinghe to drop the gun before fatally shooting him. Sanchez has since been indicted and is awaiting a jury trial per CLEAT's attorney, Brad Heilman, who stated that his client "followed his training" in an atmosphere of "great danger and challenges," according to KVUE.
The family's lawsuit, which marks a two-year effort for accountability and justice, details a "pattern of excessive force against persons of color displaying no immediate threat of serious or significant harm," as shared by KVUE. They also highlight the city's failure to implement efficient policies for transparent oversight, as established by the Police Oversight Act of 2023. Notably, the Moonesinghe family has pledged to reinvest any funds awarded through the lawsuit in reform efforts to improve policing for all Austin citizens. Meanwhile, the APD maintains that it will continue to provide support to Sanchez, as the city formulates its response to the legal proceedings. Officer Sanchez's trial is scheduled for March 2025, during which his attorney, Heilman, will assert his belief that Sanchez's use of force was justified, as he told FOX 7 Austin.
