Bill Durston says the evidence does not support Lyons’s defense of the shooting
Bill DurstonPresident of Americans Against Gun Violence
Durston said the available evidence did not support Lyons’s defense of the shooting and strongly suggested that Lyons was lying.
“I believe that the evidence that is publicly available at the time of this writing does not support Lyons’ claims. Instead, as has been the case in multiple other statements issued by Trump administration officials following shootings committed by ICE and Border Patrol officers, I believe that the available evidence strongly suggests that Todd Lyons is lying.”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Were federal immigration officers justified in shooting Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández?
On April 7, 2026, federal immigration officers shot Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández several times during a vehicle stop near Interstate 5 in Patterson, California. An FBI affidavit says the four-person team included three ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers and one Customs and Border Protection officer. It alleges Mendoza Hernández moved forward and struck an agent, reversed into a government truck, and then accelerated toward two agents, causing them to fire in response to an immediate threat. His attorney said agents fired while the car was stopped and that Mendoza Hernández fled the gunfire in panic. Public dashcam footage shows parts of the vehicle's movement but has no audio and does not establish when the shots were fired. Mendoza Hernández was later indicted on assault and property-damage charges, which remained unresolved as of September 22, 2026. The dispute is whether the vehicle posed an imminent threat when officers fired.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Durston’s president’s message evaluates the government’s account against public dashcam footage, a witness account and reporting available at the time.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Durston summarized Lyons’s claims and compared them with dashcam footage and witness and attorney accounts.
After the quotation
He said he saw no evidence that Mendoza Hernández tried to run over agents and argued that Mendoza Hernández had reason to fear for his life.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Durston rejects the government’s justification and frames the shooting as another senseless use of force requiring accountability.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Todd Lyons
More from this case
Read the full caseDare to Struggle Bay Area calls the Mendoza shooting attempted murder
Dare to Struggle Bay Area
“ICE agents tried to murder Carlos Mendoza on April 7th by shooting him seven times. He has been unjustly charged with assault, put in detention, and moved from place to place without proper medical care.”Read statement
Carlos Mendoza Hernández denies intending to hurt the officers
“My intention was never to hurt them. (Translated from Spanish. Original: Mi intención nunca fue lastimarlos.)”Read statement
Kolasinski says the federal complaint does not match the video or witnesses
“The official narrative in the complaint doesn’t match what we have seen from the video and heard from witnesses”Read statement
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Bill Durston says the evidence does not support Lyons’s defense of the shooting
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/1471-durston-said-the-available-evidence-did-not-support
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Bill Durston says the evidence does not support Lyons’s defense of the shooting". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1471-durston-said-the-available-evidence-did-not-support