Man killed by Fresno police was in mental health crisis. Family says shooting unjustified
Family of a man killed by Fresno officers in November say the shooting was unjustified after police released body worn-camera footage of the fatal encounter.
Maximiliano “Max” Sosa Jr., 33, was killed during a confrontation with Fresno police around 5 a.m. Nov. 4 just outside of an apartment on Dante Avenue near Bullard Avenue and Golden State Boulevard, police said.
Police have said officers were called to the home after a woman reported her estranged husband was threatening to take his life. Video released Friday by the department shows Sosa arguing with officers as he held a pair of scissors while his estranged wife pleaded with him to stop.
Family members and their attorney said the video was edited by police in an attempt to make Sosa appear threatening. He was going through a mental health crisis and did not present a threat to the officers who killed him, they said.
Sosa was holding a pair of scissors during the encounter, but never wielded them in a threatening way and was not aggressive toward officers, the family’s attorney Kevin Little said Friday. Sosa was not looking at officers when they fired their weapons, Little said.
“What existed was someone who had for 90 minutes expressed he was having a mental health crisis — that he wanted to die — but had not threatened his estranged spouse, had not physically threatened any officers,” Little said.
Fresno police have not named which officers were involved, but said three were placed on leave after the fatal shooting. At least one officer’s face is visible in the video as he spoke with Sosa on the phone, but it was unclear if he fired his weapon during the incident.
“The suspect was upset, had been drinking, made comments that he wanted to end his life at some point and sadly he involved the police department,” Chief Paco Balderrama said on Nov. 4.
Video from the day of the shooting
The video released by police shows an officer shouting at a driver in a Tesla, who they said was Sosa, and commanding him to stop the car as it speeds by in an apartment parking lot. He said, “want to play a game?” to one of the officers from the car, police said.
The video cuts to a short time later as an officer speaks to Sosa on a cellphone.
Later still in the video, one of two officers inside the apartment of Sosa’s estranged wife begins to exit the apartment as Sosa approaches the front door, video shows.
The officer doesn’t appear to know it is Sosa and asks him to identify himself before realizing Sosa has scissors and backs up into the apartment with his firearm drawn.
The officers speak with Sosa, telling him the incident can end without violence for about a little more than four minutes, video shows.
The video shows Sosa say he does not intend to hurt his estranged wife and mother of his children. Sosa tells officers the encounter won’t end without them killing him, or with Sosa killing a romantic rival or an officer.
An officer fired a Taser at Sosa as he leaves the apartment but it did not bring down Sosa. He then began to run along a wall outside the apartment before at least one officer fires several rounds.
Little said the law allows an officer to use deadly force only when they believe their life is in danger and they have no other choice. He said police pushed the incident with Sosa when they could have used time and space to allow it to de-escalate.
“Any experienced officer would tell you that time is his or her greatest ally,” Little said. “For some reason in many of these situations, officers seem to have this artificial timeline that the situation has to get resolved in a certain amount of time.”
He said there was about 90 minutes between the initial call and the deadly shooting when police could have formed a plan or brought in mental health experts.
Max Sosa Jr.
Sosa was one of eight siblings and graduated from Sanger High in 2008, according to his older sister Selise Sosa. She said he was a doting, hard-working father of two who had split from his wife in February 2023.
He was working full-time and helped his father’s business in his free time, his sister said. Max Sosa did not have a criminal record, the family attorney said.
“Such a funny man. Caring. (He) did everything and anything for his family,” Selise Sosa said, as she held back tears. “He should still be here with us today.”
Little has filed a lawsuit against Fresno Police Department on behalf of the family.
The Sosa family set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses.
