Tag Archives: Police violence

Vallejo: 19 dead in a decade: the small American city where violent police thrive

Police killed Sean Monterrosa amid protests against brutality. His death is part of a fatal pattern in Vallejo, California

The Guardian, by Sam Levin, 13 Jun 2020
Clockwise from top left: Guy Jarreau; Ronell Foster; Sean Monterrosa; a memorial for Monterrosa; Willie McCoy as a child and an adult; and Michael Walton next to Officer David McLaughlin in footage by Adrian Burrell.

At 12.30am on 2 June, as protests for George Floyd raged across California, a Vallejo policeman fired five shots through the windshield of his unmarked car, fatally striking an unarmed young man kneeling in a parking lot.

The death of Sean Monterrosa sparked national outrage at a time when a growing number of Americans are focused on police brutality. But in Vallejo, the killing felt painfully familiar and served as a harsh reminder that the city’s police department remains one of the country’s most violent and brutal small-city forces.

The Vallejo police chief said officers on Monday night responded to calls for “potential looters” at a Walgreens. Monterrosa was kneeling with his hands raised when he was shot, the chief said, and was not observed looting. Monterrosa had a hammer in his pocket, not a gun.

Vallejo police officers have killed 19 people since 2010, one of the highest rates in the state. The officer who shot Monterrosa, Detective Jarrett Tonn, has been involved in four shootings in five years. He’s one of 14 Vallejo policemen whom residents and activists call the “Fatal 14” – officers who have repeatedly shot and killed citizens and never faced consequences.

Sean Monterrosa, second from right, was killed by Vallejo police this month at age 22. Photograph: Courtesy Monterrosa family

The crisis in Vallejo, activists and families of victims say, represents what happens when a US police department allows repeat offenders to act with impunity, where out-of-control officers keep their jobs or get promoted even after video of their abuse is exposed.

“These officers feel they can do whatever they want,” Michelle Monterrosa, Sean’s 24-year-old sister, told the Guardian. “Sean knew the system was made to oppress people of color. It hurt him to see … Sean was angry, he would say: ‘Why are they still killing us this way?’”

In a bankrupt city, police abuse is routine

A city of 121,000, Vallejo is among the most diverse zip codes in the country, with a roughly even split of black, Latino, Asian and white residents. It’s the birthplace of acclaimed California rappers and musicians like E-40 and HER, and was home to the first naval shipyard on the Pacific ocean.

The base brought good jobs and diversity, but inequality and segregation have long been part of the city’s fabric, said John Burris, a Bay Area civil rights attorney who grew up in Vallejo and graduated high school there in 1963. “The white neighborhoods were to the left and to the right, but we didn’t walk down those streets,” he recalled.

Police harassment, too, was part of growing up in Vallejo. David Hudson, 41, said officers stopped him on the way to the store and made him sit on the curb. One time, while he was driving his high school sweetheart and her 10-year-old cousin to the movies, an officer pulled them over, made them exit the vehicle and forced the child to empty out his pockets, he recalled. Another time, police busted into a party to execute a search warrant, guns pointing at his face.

Vallejo’s shipyard closed in 1996, and the area struggled in the following years. In 2008, amid the national foreclosure crisis, the city declared bankruptcy, forcing the police department to reduce its force from 126 officers to 77.

Since then, police killings have risen significantly, although there was no major surge in crime. In addition to the high rate of killings, at least six officers have fired at people three or more times since 2010, according to Open Vallejo, a public interest news site. In 2012, officers killed six people in a single year, accounting for 30% of all Vallejo homicides that year.

High-profile killings and little-reported deaths

Some of the killings were caught on camera and made national headlines after disturbing footage emerged. In one of the most high-profile cases last year, Willie McCoy, a 20-year-old rapper, had been sleeping in his car at a Taco Bell when six officers surrounded the vehicle and fired 55 shots into his vehicle into the car in just 3.5 seconds.

Other shootings barely made the news. Ronell Foster, a 33-year-old father, was shot in 2008 by one of the policemen who would later shoot McCoy. Foster was pulled over by officer Ryan McMahon for “riding a bicycle at night with no headlamp”. Body-camera footage released more than a year after the killing showed that Foster, who was unarmed, tried to flee and the policeman chased him and shot him in the back.

Guy Jarreau Jr, a 34-year-old community activist and youth mentor, was shot and killed in 2010. According to the family’s lawsuit, Jarreau was directing a small group of friends in a music video with an anti-violence message when police ordered them to disperse. Jarreau tried to follow the orders and ended up in an alley, where undercover officer Kent Tribble, shot him without warning while his hands were in the air, the civil complaint said. Police later alleged Jarreau was armed, but witnesses said they saw him holding a cup in his hand.

In a small city like Vallejo, numerous cases of brutality are connected. A few months after Willie McCoy’s killing, his 20-year-old niece, Deyana Jenkins, was pulled over, tased and arrested after not having an ID on her.

Willie McCoy, right, in a screen shot from a music video.
Pinterest   Willie McCoy, right, in a screen shot from a music video. Police killed the 20-year-old last year. Photograph: Courtesy McCoy family/YouTube

Adrian Burrell, a 30-year-old former marine and film-maker, who shares a relative with the McCoy family, was threatened and assaulted by a policeman while filming the officer detaining his cousin last year, according to a complaint. After footage of the incident went viral, new video emerged of that same officer, David McLaughlin, holding a man at gunpoint while off duty in a parking lot, and eventually punching him.

After officers kill, ‘they sweep it under the rug’

Vallejo officials have argued that they are understaffed and that budget woes have forced the city to hire inexperienced people who work in dangerous situations.

Burris, however, said part of the problem was that Vallejo does not shun officers who left previous jobs in larger cities after facing misconduct complaints.

No Vallejo officer has been charged for an on-duty shooting, though taxpayers have footed the bill for more than $7m in payouts from civil lawsuits in recent years. Officers are put on administrative leave after killings, but generally go back to work while incidents are being investigated. Inquiries into police killings often drag on for years. Some officers have killed again before prosecutors have made a decision about charges in the previous shooting. The investigation into the death of Willie McCoy continues, 480 days after the shooting.

One Vallejo officer killed three people within 21 weeks in 2012 and was promoted to detective. An officer with three shootings was recently promoted to lieutenant.

The officer who killed Ronell Foster and shot Willie McCoy is currently on paid administrative leave. The policeman who shot Guy Jarreau became a spokesman in the department.

No one cares about the victims of police killings in a city like Vallejo, said Andrea Jarreau-Griffin, Guy’s mother: “If you’re not in these big cities, they try to sweep it under the rug.” It’s been 10 years but she continues to hold out hope for charges: “I’m still trying to get his case heard.”

Ronell Foster, 33, was killed by Vallejo police in 2018.
Pinterest   Ronell Foster, 33, left, was killed by Vallejo police in 2018. Photograph: Courtesy of John Burris Law Offices

David McLaughlin, the officer who threatened Adrian Burrell, returned to duty after leave. The officer, who had fatally shot someone in 2017, was also recently accused of harassing and threatening Melissa Nold, the civil rights lawyer representing multiple families, records show. He tried to shake her hand and questioned her when she politely declined, then subsequently told her he knows she lives in Vallejo, she wrote in a complaint letter.

Nold said families of some of the victims, too, had complained of harassment and intimidation. She herself also has a pending internal affairs complaint against the police union president, Lt Michael Nichelini, who she says has filmed her while she’s sitting at public meetings. A Times Herald records request uncovered 15 minutes of Nichelini’s cellphone footage trained on her along with photos he took.

“If you’re going to openly attack a civil rights lawyer, what do you think they are doing to black people in dark alleys?” Nold said.

“There is no accountability within our system,” said Kori McCoy, Deyana’s father and Willie’s brother. “We know this is bad policing. They are killing people who are not in the act of committing any crime, people with their hands up.

“Just treat us as equals, that’s all we want, just stop the killings,” said Paula McGowan, Foster’s mother. “Don’t give them a slap on the wrist and let them take a couple days off of paid administrative leave.”

Adrian Burrell has moved out of Vallejo and rarely returns, even though his family is still there. “Officer McLaughlin still patrols my neighborhood. I can’t go to that place without thinking, is this the day he’s going to pull me over? Or is a buddy of his going to recognize me? This is a person who violated my rights, who the city decided deserved to go back on the police force.”

Burrell cried on the phone while discussing his fears of police, and the choices he would have to make when confronted by law enforcement: “Do I stand up for myself and potentially lose my life or do I lose my dignity and humanity and survive? It’s a horrible decision.”

What comes next: ‘Enough is enough’

Following Sean Monterrosa’s killing, California’s justice department announced it would investigate Vallejo police, a move activists have long requested.

Some had hoped 2020 might be different for Vallejo. The city’s new police chief, Shawny Williams, is the first black officer to run the department. And up until this month, the city had gone more than a year without a killing.

Monterrosa’s death has sparked outrage in Vallejo and San Francisco, his hometown. The 22-year-old, well-known in the Bernal Heights neighborhood, was an avid skateboarder and artist who loved reading Malcolm X and literature about the border and criminal justice, his two sisters said. Their parents are Argentinian immigrants, and Sean, who had worked as a tutor and youth mentor, dreamed of buying and remodeling a rundown house for his mother.

He was about to start a new carpentry job when he was killed.

The basic circumstances of the killing, and Williams’ handling of the aftermath, have enraged activists. It took him more than a day to confirm a fatal shooting had occurred, and when he did, he defended the officer, pointing at the hammer in Monterrosa’s pocket and arguing that shooting through a windshield was allowed under policy. He also focused on the looting that night in Vallejo, even though Monterrosa had not broken into the store. He discussed Monterrosa’s past charges, although the 22-year-old had not been convicted in those cases and the officer knew nothing of his record or identity when he killed him.

Sean Monterrosa, second from right.
Pinterest   Sean Monterrosa, second from right. Photograph: Courtesy Monterrosa family

The police union has offered a conflicting account and said Monterrosa did not make movements consistent with surrendering.

Williams has not released body-camera footage or confirmed the officer’s name, which only became public when Open Vallejo and the Bay Area News Group reported it.

None of the officers responded to requests for comment and the police department and union did not answer inquiries for this story.

Monterrosa’s sisters said they want justice for their brother, but they would also like to see major changes to how public safety works in this country.

“We need to go to school and educate ourselves and get into office and dismantle the police,” said Michelle, his sister. “It’s not just about Sean. It’s about everyone else. We know if Sean was still here, he would want the same. Because enough is enough. How many more lives are going to be taken by police?”

City of Vallejo and CA Dept of Justice join to reform Vallejo police policies and practices

Vallejo mayor Bob Sampayan welcomes Department of Justice help

Jorge and Lynda Moreno, former roomates of Sean Monterrosa, protest in front of City Hall prior to a Friday afternoon march. Monterrosa was killed by a Vallejo police officer on Tuesday morning. (Chris Riley — Times-Herald)
Vallejo Times-Herald, by John Glidden, June 6, 2020

“We need a police department our community can trust.”

Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan said Saturday he fully supports a partnership between the city of Vallejo and the California Department of Justice to put together a policing plan that will reform the department’s policies and practices.

“We need to have an objective and impartial eye to look at the police department,” added Sampayan, a retired sergeant with the Vallejo Police Department.

On Friday, both the city and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the collaboration three days after Sean Monterrosa, 22, was shot and killed outside a Vallejo Walgreens.

Monterrosa is the fourth person to be fatally shot by Vallejo police during the past four years.

“Our communities are safer when our police departments can build public trust through good policies, practices, and training. This review and reform agreement we announce today with the City of Vallejo represents a critical step the Vallejo Police Department must take to build trust with people who have lost faith in them,” Becerra said in a news release. “When our communities speak up, we must listen — and, in recent days, people across California and the nation, and in Vallejo have bravely come together to make their voices heard. This is only a first step in our broader fight for racial justice. We must all do our part, and we must do it now.”

The Bay Area News Group, along with the Times-Herald, and Open Vallejo reported Friday that Vallejo officer Jarrett Tonn shot and killed Monterrosa after the officer mistook a hammer in Monterrosa’s waistband for a gun. Tonn fired his service weapon at Monterrosa through the windshield of his police cruiser outside the Walgreens on Redwood Street.

Police were responding to a call of looting at the store as the entire city of Vallejo was under a curfew.

Vallejo police Lt. Michael Nichelini, president of the Vallejo Police Officer’s Association, couldn’t be reached for comment on Saturday about the collaboration between the city and the California Department of Justice.

The union did release a statement on Friday in response to the Monterrosa shooting, stating “the officer is facing multiple death threats to him and his children. We ask the public to support this officer and the good work the overwhelming majority of all officers perform to keep our communities safe.”

“Throughout the night officers were responding to groups of armed looters all over the city. Seconds before this confrontation in the parking lot of a Walgreens, an officer put on the radio that it appeared the looters were armed. As officers arrived, Mr. Monterrosa was attempting to flee with others in a vehicle. Rather than continuing his escape, Mr. Monterrosa chose to engage the responding officers,” the VPOA statement reads. “Mr. Monterrosa abruptly pivoted back around toward the officers, crouched into a tactical shooting position, and grabbed an object in his waistband that appeared to be the butt of a handgun. At no time did Mr. Monterrosa make any movements consistent with surrendering. Fearing that Mr. Monterrosa was about to open fire on the officers in the vehicle, the officer was forced to fire multiple rounds through his windshield. The officer used deadly force as a last resort because he had no other reasonable option to prevent getting shot.”

Sampayan said he’s confident the comprehensive policing plan will help improve the relationship between the community and police department.

“This will help to bring back the public’s trust, having an open and transparent police department,” he added. “Our police chief, Shawny Williams, has been tasked with change — I have a lot of faith in Chief Williams.”

Sampayan confirmed by signed the Mayor’s Pledge issued by former President Barack Obama to address police use of force policies. He also said he’s pursuing the policies in “8 can’t wait,” which include banning police choke holds, requiring de-escalation, requiring a warning before police shoot, exhausting all other methods before shooting, having a duty to interfere, banning shooting at moving vehicles, requiring use of force continuum, and requiring comprehensive training.

“I want to start a dialogue with the community,” Sampayan previously said.

Following a closed session of the Vallejo City Council on Friday, it was announced councilors had directed city staff to place an item on Tuesday’s council agenda to ratify an agreement with the California Department of Justice (Cal DOJ).

The seven-person council will also vote on directing staff to a letter to Becerra, asking his office to conduct a thorough and independent criminal investigation into the Monterrosa shooting.

Vallejo police shooting: Protesters march to raise awareness for Sean Monterrosa

22-year-old was killed on Tuesday morning

Protesters face off against police officers during a peaceful march over the killing of Sean Monterrosa, the 22-year-old San Francisco man, who was shot and killed by a Vallejo Police officer during looting on Tuesday. (Chris Riley—Times-Herald)
Vallejo Times Herald, by Thomas Gase, June 6, 2020

When Black Lives Matter protesters met up Friday afternoon at Vallejo City Hall around 5 p.m., they were met by blocked streets. That didn’t seem to phase a crowd intent on honoring a 22-year-old man who also saw his own path cut short.

Hundreds of people marched for about 2.5 miles, starting down Georgia Street, then making a left on Sonoma Boulevard and then finally a right on Redwood Street to Walgreens —the place where Sean Monterrosa was killed by a Vallejo police officer on Tuesday morning.

During the march, the East Bay Times, in conjunction with the Times-Herald, released a story reporting that the officer who killed Monterrosa was Jarrett Tonn.

The marchers discovered this about halfway through the march while blocking the intersection of Tennessee Street and Sonoma Boulevard.

“That’s where it happened,” Maui Wilson said. “The police station was blocked off and Walgreens we knew would be a little safer. We had people marching with wheelchairs and we also had kids and the elderly. There is a time and place for everything, but safety was a key issue.”

Before moving to San Francisco to live with his girlfriend, Monterrosa lived in San Lorenzo with Lynda and Jorge Moreno for nine months. When Lynda heard they were going to Walgreens as the destination of the march she said, “it felt right.”

Once at Walgreens, the large crowd, which had grown substantially during the trip, with many cars honking in support, paid respects to Monterrosa by taking a knee in silence, as well as holding up their hands as if surrendering.

The kneeling and hands up were to symbolize Monterrosa, who was at the same Walgreens Monday night and early Tuesday morning as the store was being looted. According to Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams, officers in a unit saw a “single male dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt standing on the east side of the building.” The person was later identified as Monterrosa.

In a report on Wednesday, Williams went on: “The officers saw this individual begin running toward the black sedan when he stopped and abruptly turned toward the officers, crouching down in a half-kneeling position as if in preparation to shoot, and moving his hands toward his waist area near what appeared to be the butt of a handgun. Investigations later revealed that the weapon was a long, 15-inch hammer, tucked into the pocket of his sweatshirt.”

That’s when the officer, Tonn, reportedly fired his pistol five times, striking Monterrosa once. Monterrosa was declared dead several hours later.

In a Wednesday press conference, Williams refused to say the killing was excessive force. On Friday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra came to an agreement with the City of Vallejo and the Vallejo Police Department to collaborate on a comprehensive policing plan in an effort to modernize and reform VPD’s policies and practices and increase public trust.

On Friday night, the VPD sent out a press release explaining the situation with Monterrosa on Tuesday morning.

“As officers arrived, Mr. Monterrosa was attempting to flee with others in a vehicle. Rather than continuing his escape, Mr. Monterrosa chose to engage the responding officers,” the statement reads. “Mr. Monterrosa abruptly pivoted back around toward the officers, crouched into a tactical shooting position, and grabbed an object in his waistband that appeared to be the butt of a handgun. At no time did Mr. Monterrosa make any movements consistent with surrendering. Fearing that Mr. Monterrosa was about to open fire on the officers in the vehicle, the officer was forced to fire multiple rounds through his windshield. The officer used deadly force as a last resort because he had no other reasonable option to prevent getting shot.”

Meanwhile, angry protesters shouted demands that the VPD release body cam footage. The department has 45 days to release the footage, while Williams has said he wants to release in a shorter time period.

The crowd remained peaceful for the most part until at least 8 p.m. Police kept their distance as well, with only a pair of officers on motorcycles a few blocks away as a helicopter also followed the march from the sky. The National Guard was also on hand at City Hall, but didn’t intercede during the rally. Many protesters were able to hug members of the National Guard moments before beginning the march.

“We’re here to show support for the community,” Sgt. James Fontenot said. “We want to take care of each other. The city asked us to be here and we were happy to do it. There’s been a lot of turmoil and we’re here to do whatever to keep everyone safe.”

Fontenot would not say how long the National Guard is in town, saying “We’re here for as long as the community needs us before directing us to go somewhere else.”

During the rally, Jorge Moreno, a longtime childhood friend of Monterrosa, spoke with passion and anger, but called for peace and an end to racial discrimination.

“Tonight, we want the badge off,” Moreno said. “This guy (Tonn) is an 18-year-old veteran. He knew what he was doing. They always do stuff like that and get away with it.

Intersections were blocked off at Sonoma Boulevard and Valle Vista Street, along with Sonoma and Redwood Street, Redwood and Couch Street, and Tennessee and Sonoma Boulevard. Most of the cars stuck in traffic seemed to be in support of the cause, honking and watching as protesters kneeled and raised their hands while shouting, “No justice, no peace. No racists, no peace” as well as, “Say his name, Sean Monterrrosa!”

While sitting at the intersection of Tennessee and Sonoma, Vallejoan Chiara Reeves yelled out, “Yeah we definitely look dangerous like this!”

Earlier in the night, Lynda and Jorge Moreno reflected on the life of Monterrosa and also the night he died. Jorge, along with other friends, have a group chat that has been going on for years.

“He (Monterrosa) sent a message out that night saying that ‘He was going out’ but he didn’t specify what he would be doing,” Lynda Moreno said. “Another friend said he had a bad feeling and told him to stay safe.”

“I think he found himself in a position he didn’t want to be in, but circumstances around him didn’t allow him to get out of it,” Lynda continued. “He got caught up in something he didn’t want. His girlfriend felt scared and called him up and I guess heard the whole thing on the phone. She heard gunshots and then she screamed his name over and over but didn’t hear a response.”

While Lynda said she’ll remember his laugh and smile, Jorge also said hearing the news of his friend’s death was very difficult.

“I found out from a friend calling me,” Jorge said. “I found out sitting on the couch he used to sleep on while he was living here. I was a little older than him, but he had a big heart.”

Protester DeMarcus Tanner said change needs to come immediately in the police department.

“Are you telling me five of these officers couldn’t have just gotten out and tackled him to take him down?” Tanner said. “Where does the gun come into play? Police officers are supposed to be there to protect, but where is the protection? We’re in a recession and nobody wants this. First we were losing lives due to the coronavirus, now we’re losing lives due to the police.”

Lynda Moreno also spoke of change, but needs to see it.

“There has been a lot of talk of it, but I haven’t seen it. They say they want to change, but say what you mean and mean what you say,” Lynda Moreno said. “Nobody should be abusing power like this.”