Mendez

BACKGROUND

Mendez’s son Ignacio was shot and killed by a police offi- cer on the evening of July 2, 2002, during an armed standoff with police on the driveway of the Mendez’s neighbor’s home. Neither Mendez nor Angel was considered a suspect in any crime, but both were witnesses to the event. Shortly after 11794 MENDEZ v. COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO the shooting, Mendez was placed in the back of a police car on the scene. The officer who first placed her in the car testi- fied that he “opened the door and asked her to have a seat.” After about 10 minutes, Mendez began to hit the windows, asking to be released. An officer then transferred Mendez to a different police car parked nearby. She again beat on the windows in an attempt to ask for air; an officer eventually cracked open a window for her. After about two hours, Mendez and Angel were driven to the police station in sepa- rate cars for questioning. Mendez was not asked whether she consented to being brought to the station and the officer who brought her there never told her that she was free to leave.

At the station, Mendez was placed in a room with a closed door and questioned by two police officers, one of whom was…