Kolasinski says the federal complaint does not match the video or witnesses
Patrick KolasinskiAttorney for Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández
After the criminal complaint against Mendoza Hernández was unsealed, his attorney Patrick Kolasinski wrote in an email that the official account in the complaint conflicts with the video and with witness accounts, and that the dispute would be argued at a later hearing or trial.
“The official narrative in the complaint doesn’t match what we have seen from the video and heard from witnesses”
Reporting
Reporting
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
Reporting
About this source
Stocktonia report on Mendoza Hernández's first federal court appearance and the unsealed complaint.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Report on Mendoza Hernández's first federal court appearance in Sacramento.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Earlier on April 14, the Justice Department released the unsealed FBI affidavit. It alleges that Mendoza Hernández moved the car forward and struck an agent, at around which time one agent fired, then reversed into a government truck and pulled forward toward two agents as both fired. Kolasinski had said his client was adamant that an officer shot him before he moved the car.
After the quotation
A federal magistrate judge ruled the same day that Mendoza Hernández should be released on bond, but the order was stayed at the government's request.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Reference point: whether the officers were justified in firing at Mendoza Hernández. The complaint says officers fired as he struck an agent and drove toward two others; Kolasinski says that account conflicts with the video and the witnesses, in line with his client's position that he was shot before he moved the car. That rejects the factual basis offered for the shooting, so we used Denied. The Condemned label on his April 8 remarks does not fit here because this statement does not judge the officers' conduct; it rejects the government's version of events. Evidence: a reputable news report quoting his email.
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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
Bill Durston says the evidence does not support Lyons’s defense of the shooting
“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.”Read statement
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Kolasinski says the federal complaint does not match the video or witnesses
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- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4786-after-the-criminal-complaint-against-mendoza-hern%C3%A1ndez-was
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Kolasinski says the federal complaint does not match the video or witnesses". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4786-after-the-criminal-complaint-against-mendoza-hern%C3%A1ndez-was