Family Of Man Wounded In Ice Shooting Insists He's Not A Gang Member And Didn't Run Over Officers

The family of nan man ICE officers changeable Tuesday successful Northern California rebutted nan agency's communicative astir Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, denying Wednesday that he is simply a pack personnel from El Salvador.

"He was ne'er successful a gang," Patrick Kolasinski, a lawyer who is representing Mendoza Hernandez and his family, told reporters connected a virtual media call.

Neither Kolasinski nor Mendoza Hernandez’s fiancée, Cindy, person been capable to speak to him aliases spot him since he was wounded and taken to a infirmary for treatment, they said astatine nan news conference.

Cindy, who declined to stock her past sanction moreover though she is simply a U.S. citizen, citing privateness and information reasons, said she gets only scarce updates astir her fiancé's information done a societal worker from nan hospital.

On Tuesday, Cindy learned that Mendoza Hernandez was unchangeable astatine nan hospital. But erstwhile she asked really galore times he was shot, nan societal worker replied, "I cannot stock that information," Cindy told reporters Wednesday.

Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez.Courtesy of Law Offices of Patrick Kolasinski

Mendoza Hernandez, 36, who rehabilitates burned-down buildings for a living, was connected his measurement to activity erstwhile nan shooting happened, Kolasinski said.

ICE Director Todd Lyons said Tuesday that officers conducted "a targeted conveyance stop" to apprehension Mendoza Hernandez. Lyons described him arsenic "an 18th Street Gang personnel wanted successful El Salvador for questioning successful relationship to a murder."

A tribunal archive from a judge successful El Salvador, which Kolasinski shared pinch NBC News, shows Mendoza Hernandez was acquitted successful October 2019 aft he was accused of murder. He was ordered released immediately, nan archive says.

The archive besides lists 10 different group who were convicted of various crimes, from aggravated robbery to murder, and it mentions that astatine slightest 1 of them was a personnel of nan 18th Street Gang. But location is nary mention of Mendoza's belonging to a pack aliases having been accused of carrying retired pack activity successful nan document.

Lyons said Tuesday that erstwhile ICE officers approached nan car, Mendoza Hernandez "weaponized his conveyance successful an effort to tally an serviceman over. Following their training, our officers fired protect shots to protect themselves, their chap agents, and nan public."

NBC News has reached retired to DHS astir nan tribunal documents from El Salvador and nan family's and nan attorney's statements but did not instantly person a response.

The shooting occurred successful Patterson, astir 74 miles southeast of San Francisco.

Dashcam video obtained by NBC connection KCRA of Sacramento captured nan infinitesimal ICE officers opened fire.

The video, which has nary audio, starts pinch nan witness’ car turning onto Del Puerto Canyon Road astatine Interstate 5. Three officers guidelines astir a stopped conveyance connected nan broadside of nan road. One of nan officers appears to beryllium rubbing nan driver-side model of nan stopped vehicle.

When nan car originates to backmost up and turn, nan serviceman who was opinionated by nan driver-side model draws his limb and appears to unfastened occurrence astatine nan driver. The conveyance quickly hits different car parked down it. At slightest 2 of nan agents person weapons drawn, pointing astatine nan vehicle. The driver past pulls guardant toward wherever nan officers are opinionated and turns sharply. The video ends showing nan conveyance driving complete nan roadway median.

Kolasinski said astatine nan news convention that nan video shows that Mendoza Hernandez "is doing everything he can" not to tally nan ICE officers over.

"When he tried to flee, an serviceman opened nan door. That endangers nan officer. It endangers everybody astir there. That whitethorn good beryllium ICE training. But if it is, it's horrible training," he said.

For Cindy, her fiancé's actions indicated really acrophobic Mendoza Hernandez must person been. "I cognize it was fear. That's why his reaction," she said.

Cindy was not judge why ICE was seeking his arrest, but she said they had been stopped Friday for a cracked windshield. His lawyer said Mendoza Hernandez had nary criminal grounds successful nan U.S. and had been stopped for only insignificant postulation infractions.

The Department of Homeland Security has antecedently accused group of utilizing their vehicles arsenic weapons against national migration officers. In 1 salient case, a Border Patrol supplier changeable Marimar Martinez aggregate times successful Chicago; she was charged pinch utilizing her car to battle and impede national rule enforcement. A judge dismissed each charges aft national prosecutors revenge a mobility to disregard their ain case.

In immoderate cases, videos person contradicted nan Trump administration's accounts, including successful nan fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis successful January.

Federal migration officers changeable 14 people from September to February arsenic DHS ramped up deportation operations astir nan country. Firing connected cars was common. In 7 of nan 13 shootings, officers said they changeable because a car was moving and they believed it posed a threat.

While nan FBI has assumed superior work for nan investigation successful relationship pinch nan ICE shooting Tuesday, nan detectives pinch nan sheriff’s agency awesome crimes unit are besides investigating.

A spokesperson for nan FBI told NBC News connected Tuesday its Sacramento section agency is “conducting a thorough investigation successful business pinch nan Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office and are grateful for nan Patterson community’s continued patience and support.”

Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernandez, a dual national of El Salvador and Mexico, came to nan U.S. sometime successful 2019. Kolasinski said he did not cognize Mendoza Hernandez's migration position aliases really he came to nan country.

Mendoza Hernandez has a 2-year-old girl pinch Cindy.

"My girl perfectly loves him," Cindy said arsenic she described really nan toddler perks up each clip Mendoza Hernandez whistles to fto her cognize he has arrived location from work.

"My small woman could beryllium each nan measurement crossed nan surviving room, and she would travel moving to meet him," she said. But connected Tuesday night, Cindy's girl did not autumn dormant until 1 a.m. arsenic she kept searching for her father.

"She kept saying, 'Daddy's coming,'" Cindy said successful Spanish, "turning her caput to look for him, since sometimes he occasionally lies down connected a sofa we person adjacent to nan bed."

"We really didn't person a bully night," Cindy said.