BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
A lawsuit filed against Los Alamos County and the Los Alamos Police Department by former LAPD officer Monica Salazar-Casias was settled Feb. 17 for $212,500, according to a release and settlement agreement obtained pursuant to a request for public records. Los Alamos County will also pay the cost of mediation in the case.
The agreement is signed by Ed Zendel, Risk Services Director New Mexico Self Insurers’ Fund as well as Los Alamos County Manager Harry Burgess, County Attorney Alvin Leaphart , Salazar-Casias and her attorney James Montalbano.
The lawsuit was filed in July 2019 by Salazar-Casias. Details are included in the following story.
In the agreement the County agrees to take no further action with regard to Salazar-Casias’s law enforcement certification and not to initiate criminal charges against her in any way relating to “the alleged facts and circumstances which form the basis of her employment-related lawsuit”.
Under the agreement, Salazar-Casias will not seek reinstatement to her former position and will not apply for employment with the County. Signing the agreement is not an admission of liability by the County and not to be construed as an admission of wrongdoing. The agreement states that the County entered into it based solely on the consideration of the economic costs, including the time and expense of litigation and not on any admission of liability.
The case was dismissed with prejudice March 2 by First Judicial District Judge Jason Lidyard pursuance to a joint motion to dismiss filed by the parties.