Overview
- The Feb. 18 stop on North Twin Oaks Valley Road ended with five sheriff’s deputies and a Palomar College reserve officer firing on 33-year-old Andre Raphael Mendez.
- Authorities say Mendez rolled up the window, reached toward the floorboard, armed himself with a semiautomatic handgun, ignored commands, and fired two rounds from inside the car after taser deployments appeared ineffective.
- Body-worn cameras and a bystander’s cellphone captured a roughly 90-second standoff that included a deputy breaking the passenger-side window with a baton.
- The personnel who fired were identified as Deputies Sean Dwyer, Justin Tesar, Jake Brown, Chalit Caranto, and Thomas Cook, and Palomar College reserve Officer Kyle Hodges.
- Officials say the stop followed a records check that found license plate and VIN inconsistencies and steering-column damage suggesting a possibly stolen vehicle; the driver, 21, was removed safely and no other injuries were reported.