By JIM BUTLER

Settle or go to trial seem to be the Alexandria City Council’s choices regarding a suit filed in the wake of a 2023 traffic accident involving an on-duty police officer.

Council and counsel will discuss the matter in executive session Tuesday evening. 

The city’s lawyers recommend settling with a Risk Management Fund payment of $350,000 plus any attendant fees and charges. 

If settlement agreement is not reached the case goes to trial March 24, according to current district court docket information. 

The accident happened late on a February night at Monroe Street and Texas Avenue. 

Officer Hannah Paul was responding to a report of subjects breaking into a vehicle on the nearby AutoZone parking lot. 

She allegedly ran a red light in her city-owned patrol car, making a turn, losing control and crashing into a vehicle driven by Vanessa Moreno. 

The plaintiff’s suit alleges a number of adverse results.