Former 'ER' actor Vanessa Marquez shot and killed by police

Actor Vanessa Marquez, best known for her role as a nurse on "ER", was shot and killed by South Pasadena police during a welfare check at her home. Marquez, 49, played nurse Wendy Goldman on the hit series from 1994 to 1997. Lieutenant Joe Mendoza of the Los Angeles county sheriff's department told reporters Friday that officers arrived at the 1100 block of Fremont Avenue Thursday morning, after a call from Marquez's landlord. According to Variety, the lieutenant said Marquez seemed "gravely disabled". It was reportedly not the first time law enforcement had been called to Marquez's apartment. Officers called out paramedics and a mental health clinician, and continued to talk with her. After about 90 minutes, Marquez, 49, armed herself with a BB gun and pointed it at the officers, causing them to open fire, said Mendoza. She was shot in the torso and later died at the hospital. Marquez, who appeared in the films "Stand and Deliver" and "Twenty Bucks", was in the news last year after claiming on Twitter that "ER" co-star George Clooney played a part in blacklisting her from the industry after she and other "ER" cast members complained of sexism and racism on the set of the show. "Clooney helped blacklist me when I spoke up about harassment on ER," she wrote on Twitter. "Women who don't play the game lose career. I did." Clooney denied the allegation. PTI