Lopez

This lawsuit stems from the tragic, untimely death of Suzie Pena (Suzie), who was killed by police officers in the special weapons and tactics (SWAT) unit as they attempted to rescue her from her father, Raul Pena (Pena), who held her hostage. Suzie was only 19 months old when she died. Appellant Lorena Lopez is Suzie’s mother. She challenges the trial court’s entry of nonsuit, finding that she presented no substantial evidence to support her causes of action for negligence and wrongful death. We conclude no substantial evidence supported appellant’s theory that officers used unreasonable force—the basis of her negligence and wrongful death claims. We affirm the judgment.

Appellant’s challenge rests principally on her claim that officers lacked probable cause to use deadly force against Pena because Suzie was not in danger. We reject her characterization of the evidence. Interpreting the evidence in the light most favorable to her, the uncontradicted evidence showed Suzie was in grave danger from Pena. He repeatedly threatened to kill her while he was armed and holding her hostage. According to appellant’s counsel, immediately preceding Suzie’s death, Pena claimed to be…