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Joseph Santos' two adult sons and 11-year-old daughter will receive a portion of the settlement, aside from law firm costs and fees, according to a copy of the settlement obtained by The Morning Call.
Santos' estate administrator, Juliana Valenzuela, agreed to end the lawsuit on Sept. 14, according to the settlement.
South Whitehall Township Officer Jonathan Roselle shot 44-year-old Santos, of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, five times on the side of the road in July 2018, as previously reported by Daily Voice. Santos was celebrating a birthday at Dorney Park the day of the shooting.
"This was the act of a relatively inexperienced officer, who held a subjective fear for his own safety, but made a decision which objectively was unreasonable in light of the facts as they existed and appeared at the time he discharged his weapon and killed Mr. Santos," Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said during a news conference Tuesday.
Santos apparently jumped a fence at Dorney Park and hung onto a woman’s moving car before falling off, a witness said.
Roselle later found a bleeding Santos, who can be seen in a video posted by another driver on Facebook banging on the police vehicle’s window and jumping on the hood.
Roselle called in to report the “somewhat bizarre behavior” before Santos began walking away, Martin said. He then turned around, the district attorney said, and headed back toward the officer – who ordered him to get on the ground.
Roselle — who faced voluntary manslaughter charges – was acquitted of all charges after a trial in 2020.
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