Mother of unarmed man shot by Laredo police officer says authorities are lying

The mother of an unarmed man shot by a Laredo police officer Monday said authorities are not telling the truth about what transpired.

Rosa Mendoza, 52, said she believes the 23-year veteran cop shot her son, Edwin Mendoza, for no reason.

“I feel distraught as a mother to see what my son is going through. Police are telling their story. That’s a big lie,” she said.

Rosa Mendoza was not present at the time of the shooting. She said she heard an account of the incident from one of the men who was with her son when he was shot.

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When police pulled over a vehicle, a Cadillac sedan occupied by Mendoza and two others, the driver parked on a slope in the area of San Dario Avenue and Shiloh Drive. Police secured two male occupants.

“My son was the last one to get out of the vehicle,” Mendoza said. “The street was slanted. The street was humid. He lost his footing. Before he fell, the officer shot him in the chest.

“My son yelled at them, ‘Don’t shoot me. I have children.’”

She added, “When my son got off the car, he got down with his hands up.”

On Monday, Laredo police held a news conference saying the officer shot Mendoza because he made a “furtive movement” that led the officer to believe he had a weapon.

Officers only recovered a cellphone from the area where Mendoza fell. The officer in question is on administrative reassignment pending the outcome of the case.

Mendoza, a father of five, was rushed to Laredo Medical Center. Police said Monday he was listed in stable condition.

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“My son is in serious condition. We’re waiting to see if he’ll get better as the days go by,” Mendoza said. “I can’t say he is in stable condition if he is in ICU.”

She said her son sustained a broken sternum, a possible punctured left lung and broken ribs from officers landing with their knees on her son.

She said he can’t undergo surgery because his condition is not stable. The bullet is still lodged, according to the mother.

“I was told that my son attacked the officer and that the officer had to defend himself shooting him in the chest … That’s a lie,” she said. “My son tripped when he got out of the car. The cop took it as if my son had attacked him.”

She further stated that he did not have weapons on him.

When asked for comment on this story, Investigator Joe E. Baeza, police spokesman, said the department will release additional information as the investigation progresses.