Patrick Kolasinski is a Modesto, California, attorney whose practice focuses on immigration and criminal defense.
Case
Federal immigration officers shot Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández during a Patterson vehicle stop. The government says he drove at agents; his attorney says they fired first. Dashcam footage does not resolve the timing.
Role at the time: Attorney for Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández
Statement summary
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”
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.
Role at the time: Attorney for Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández
Statement summary
Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernández tried to avoid the officers and condemned the agents’ training as horrible.
“He is doing everything he can to not run them over as they try their best to get in his way. If you look at that video and watch that video side by side with the Renee Good video, it’s the same training, and it’s horrible training. The California Highway Patrol does dangerous stops day in and day out. They don’t have this kind of issue.”
Relative to the officers’ decision to fire, Kolasinski expressly criticizes the conduct and training while arguing that Mendoza Hernández tried to avoid hitting officers.
Statement dates: April 8, 2026 to April 14, 2026
Statement dates: April 8, 2026 to April 14, 2026
Statement dates: April 8, 2026 to April 14, 2026
Statement dates: April 8, 2026 to April 14, 2026
