Northside ISD to pay mother of boy its officer killed

THE TEEN: According to witnesses, Derek Lopez ran from officer Alvarado after being involved in an altercation with another student. THE TEEN: According to witnesses, Derek Lopez ran from officer Alvarado after being involved in an altercation with another student. Photo: Courtesy Photo Photo: Courtesy Photo Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Northside ISD to pay mother of boy its officer killed 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO – The mother of the unarmed teenager shot and killed in November 2010 by a Northside Independent School District police officer has agreed to settle her two-year-old federal lawsuit against the cop, the district and its police chief.

Officer Daniel Alvarado, then 45, chased the student, Derek Lopez, 14, into the backyard of a Northwest Side home and shot him, police said at the time.

Alvarado said he witnessed Lopez punch another student at a bus stop off campus and decided to pursue him, ignoring a supervisor's order to stay with the victim, court records stated.

Lopez's mother, Denys Lopez Moreno, filed a lawsuit in September 2011 against Alvarado, Northside ISD, and its then-police chief, John W. Page, alleging they violated her son's civil rights.

Last week, Northside's board voted to accept a settlement offer, said the district's lawyer, Craig Wood.

Northside will pay Moreno $925,000 and both sides will agree to ask a judge to dismiss the suit in coming days, according to a copy of the settlement released by the district Monday in response to an open records request.

Moreno deferred interview requests to her lawyer, Wallace Brylak.

“As you can imagine, this situation has turned her entire life upside down and obviously nothing is going to cure the pain that Ms. Moreno feels every day,” Brylak said. “But what this litigation has done is given an opportunity for other districts and officers to learn from mistakes committed, so they aren't repeated.”

Lopez was hiding in a backyard shed when Alvarado, flagged down by a neighbor, ran up the driveway with his weapon drawn and entered the yard, witnesses said.

Moreno's lawsuit alleged that Alvarado “charged up to the shed, flung open the door and shot and killed the unarmed boy.”

Alvarado disputed that, saying Lopez charged at him, causing the officer to fire one shot, a Northside ISD police report states.

There were no other witnesses in the backyard.

The Bexar County district attorney's office took the case to a grand jury, which declined to indict Alvarado in August 2012, First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg said.

“The law states people have a right to defend themselves if they feel like their life is in danger,” Herberg said, adding that the grand jury “found that (Alvarado) felt like his life was threatened and believed the officer's story.”

Northside officials said Alvarado was the first district officer to be involved in a shooting in the department's history.

Despite initial reports by the district that Alvarado had a clean record, the San Antonio Express-News found his supervisors had reprimanded or counseled him on at least 12 occasions — six for not following orders.

He was suspended at least four times, and his supervisors warned of impending termination four times, once even recommending it.

Alvarado agreed to the settlement last month. Northside officials took him off patrol duty after the shooting but didn't fire him.

Alvarado resigned in January after nearly 19 years on Northside's force, district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said.

fvara-orta@express-news.net

Twitter: @fvaraorta