With drones buzzing overhead, Vallejo police and Napa County Sheriff’s deputies, some in tactical gear, swarmed a neighborhood in West Vallejo following a Vallejo police shooting late Monday morning.
A Vallejo officer shot a person who allegedly pointed a gun at police, striking him in the arm, according to police radio traffic. The injury is not believed to be life threatening, police said in a press release Monday afternoon.
The incident began when two people in a white Lexus allegedly robbed a man and his brother at gunpoint outside the Seafood City grocery store in Vallejo around 11:30 a.m., according to radio traffic. Just over a minute later, police observed the Lexus driving on Sonoma Boulevard and initiated a pursuit that soon reached 65 miles per hour. The Lexus began driving in the wrong direction, according to police, before it eventually collided with a Toyota Yaris at the corner of Sonoma Boulevard and Tennesee Street.
The Lexus came to a stop a block away. Two people emerged and fled down Alabama Street, followed seconds later by a third, according to an eyewitness who spoke with Open Vallejo on condition of anonymity. The witness said they then heard between three and four gunshots. Police have not identified the person who was shot.
Vallejo Police spokesperson Sgt. Rashad Hollis declined to comment about the shooting on the grounds that it is being investigated by the Solano County Major Crimes Task Force, which is overseen by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. On Monday, Vallejo Police Lt. Sanjay Ramrakha confirmed that a Vallejo officer had fired their weapon but did not identify the officer.
Napa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Henry Wofford told Open Vallejo that deputies, including deputies assigned to the American Canyon Police Department, arrived “well after the fact” of the shooting and had “no involvement” in the incident or investigation. An American Canyon police officer and a Napa County Sheriff’s deputy detained a person in apparent connection with the incident.
Vallejo police also arrested a man, who appeared to be uninvolved in the robbery or the shooting, after he walked through the crash scene Monday afternoon.
Vallejo Police Det. Jordon Patzer chased the man across Sonoma Boulevard before slamming him to the ground and arresting him. The man loudly complained of leg pain and asked to go to the hospital.
“According to the arresting officer, the man did not have a complaint of pain,” Hollis said in a Tuesday interview, adding that the person declined medical attention, according to Patzer.
Monday marks the second time in less than six months that a Vallejo police officer has shot someone after a more than three-year pause in shootings.
Open Vallejo research shows that between 2000 and 2020, Vallejo police shot someone once every four months, on average. In 2020, Open Vallejo revealed a Vallejo Police Department tradition in which officers bend the tips of their badges to mark fatal shootings.
Last month, the California Department of Justice announced a lawsuit and consent decree intended to reform Vallejo police. The announcement followed the conclusion of a three-year collaborative review of the department, initiated by the state DOJ in 2020 over concerns regarding the “number and nature” of shootings by Vallejo officers, which had limited success.
This article has been updated to include additional information and comment from the Vallejo Police Department.
