A shirtless man holding a handsaw blade approaches two deputies, one of whom is pointing a handgun, outdoors during daytime, from the perspective of the body camera of a third deputy, who is pointing a Taser at the man.
Body camera footage shows 28-year-old Jason Thompson, who was reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis, moments before he was killed by Solano County Sheriff’s Deputy John Robertson on June 19, 2022. Credit: Solano County Sheriff's Office

Please note that the below videos are very graphic and may be disturbing.

In response to a California Public Records Act request filed by Open Vallejo, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office has disclosed body camera and vehicle camera footage from the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Jason Thompson on June 19.

Thompson was suffering from an apparent mental health crisis when deputies Esteben Greenwood, Eduardo Borrego and John Robertson encountered him at the corner of Pennsylvania and Sutter streets in Vallejo, Calif. Thompson was holding several handsaw blades, according to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office, as well as video footage and eyewitnesses who spoke with Open Vallejo on condition of anonymity due to concerns about retaliation by law enforcement.

A Taser lies behind crime scene tape outdoors at dusk

Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo

An expended Taser 7 lies behind crime scene tape following the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Jason Thompson on June 19, 2022 in Vallejo, Calif. Credit: Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo

The footage shows deputies exit their vehicles and draw their guns as Thompson throws one of the blades toward Robertson. Robertson and Greenwood start backing away from Thompson, who approaches them as the deputies issue commands for him to stop, video shows. Greenwood, a member of the agency’s SWAT team, then holsters his gun as he continues backing away, apparently empty-handed, while Borrego switches to his Taser and Robertson continues to point his gun at Thompson. The video then shows Thompson start moving more quickly toward Greenwood, at which point Borrego fires the Taser, which discharges for approximately two seconds. When Thompson continues to approach Greenwood, Robertson fires seven rounds at Thompson, killing him.

Video:

Deputy John Robertson body camera

Deputy Esteben Greenwood body camera

Deputy Eduardo Borrego body camera

Vehicle 1 dashcam

Vehicle 2 dashcam

Geoffrey King is the executive editor of Open Vallejo. Prior to founding Open Vallejo, Geoffrey worked as an attorney and journalist focused on free expression, open government, press freedom and privacy. He is a proud native of Vallejo, California.