Government
Aug. 2, 2002
Armed But Disabled: Family Questions Hesperia Police Shooting
Column by Garry Abrams - On the night of July 2, Ignacio Mendez was suicidal, according to members of the Hesperia man's family. And before the evening was over, Mendez, 24, was dead - but not by the gun he was carrying.
On the night of July 2, Ignacio Mendez was suicidal, according to members of the Hesperia man's family.
And before the evening was over, Mendez, 24, was dead - but not by the gun he was carrying.
In the street, after a two-hour standoff, in which his mother reportedly tried to shield him, Mendez died in a hail of bullets fired by San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies. Ironically, Mendez's family had summoned the deputies to prevent Mendez's death.
Now, the family is understandably upset. Mendez's sister, Hermina, told me that she is going to devote her life to seeking redress for her brother's death.
"It is my little brother, and nobody can do it for me," she said, noting that she has retained an attorney to press her cause, including a possible lawsuit. (The attorney did not return calls.)
The little-noticed death of Ignacio Mendez in Southern California's high desert illustrates the vagaries of publicizing allegations of police misconduct.
Compared with the furor over the videotaped encounter between 16-year-old Donovan Jackson and Inglewood police July 6, the death of Mendez under hotly disputed circumstances and expectations isn't even a blip on the media radar screen.
The Mendez killing has parallels with, as well as important distinctions from, other high-profile police encounters, including the Jackson beating. Like Jackson - who reputedly has a disability that makes him slow to understand oral commands - Mendez was deaf and may not have understood fully the gravity of his situation on July 2, according to Hermina Mendez.
Mendez's death also echoes the death of Margaret Mitchell, the mentally ill woman killed by Los Angeles Police Department officers three years ago after allegedly threatening officers with a screwdriver.
Against the backdrop of increased scrutiny of police, Mendez's family insists his death deserves attention, too. Along the same lines, supporters of the police might argue that the Mendez episode ended the only way it could.
While the outcome of Hermina Mendez's crusade is an open question, she has at least one ally, Sherman Mitchell, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who lives in Victorville.
I met Sherman Mitchell last month at a march in Inglewood held to protest Jackson's beating. Mitchell, who is pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Lucerne Valley, showed me an article about Mendez's killing from the Victorville Daily Press.
Mitchell told me that he was concerned about the Mendez shooting and that he was going to try to do something about it. I asked him to stay in touch. By Monday, Mitchell had located Hermina Mendez in Fresno County. He gave her my phone number, and Hermina Mendez called me on Tuesday.
Hermina Mendez told me that she was not present when her brother was shot but that she has talked to her mother and another brother who were on the scene of the lethal confrontation.
It's the family's position that Ignacio never pointed the weapon, described as an AK-47 assault rifle, at deputies, Hermina Mendez said.
However, a release issued by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department states that Ignacio fired "a round into the dirt by his mother's feet and then pointed the gun at deputies," who shot Ignacio.
Ignacio's brother Angel also told the Victorville newspaper that deputies had promised to stun Ignacio with a beanbag rather than wound or kill him. Instead, Angel told the Daily Press, a deputy fired one bullet at Ignacio, who was knocked backward and fired one shot from his weapon into the ground. After that, deputies unleashed a volley, which Angel estimated at 20 shots. Paramedics pronounced Ignacio dead at the scene.
Not surprisingly, the Mendez family believes that Ignacio's deafness prevented him from hearing commands to drop his gun and that his depression further blurred his comprehension.
A Sheriff's Department representative told the Daily Press that, over two hours, Ignacio should have understood from gestures, including pointed guns, that he must drop his weapon.
Meanwhile, Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Robin Haynal said that an administrative investigation by the department into the death of Ignacio Mendez is "still ongoing."
Civil rights activist Mitchell said he plans to write letters to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer requesting investigations of Ignacio Mendez's death.
Mitchell said he's particularly concerned that deputies used "overkill" to end the standoff with Mendez.
Whether the shooting of Ignacio Mendez was justified or not, the episode points to the often wary, edgy relationship between citizens and police officers.
True, Mendez had an assault rifle.
That vastly increased the possibility he could be shot or could shoot himself and officers on the scene. Nonetheless, Mendez's family had called for help to save Ignacio's life, and the fatal results leave a bitter aftertaste.
"You're going to have people not trusting cops anymore," Hermina Mendez said. "Where's that going to end?"
Garry Abrams
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
Jeremy_Ellis@dailyjournal.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 213-229-5424
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com