A hilltop San Francisco intersection will soon bear the name of Sean Monterrosa to honor the legacy and contributions of the 22-year-old man killed in 2020 by a Vallejo police officer.
On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to honor Monterrosa with a commemorative street name at Park Street and Holly Park Circle in the Bernal Heights neighborhood where he grew up. Several neighbors and residents wrote to the board to express their support.
“Sean Monterrosa had a bright, beautiful, and limitless life ahead of him,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen, a co-sponsor of the resolution. “The passing of this item will help the community heal, serve as a positive beacon for Black and brown youth for whom Sean was a mentor, and remind our city of his great contributions.”
Monterrosa was killed in a Walgreens parking lot in Vallejo on June 2, 2020, by Det. Jarrett Tonn, who fired five rounds from a Colt M4 Commando rifle from the backseat of an unmarked police truck, records show. A single bullet struck Monterrosa in the back of the head. Tonn told investigators that he mistook a hammer in Monterrosa’s sweatshirt for a gun.
Police seized a drone that recorded the killing, which found its way to the office of then-Police Chief Shawny Williams, bypassing evidence protocols. A detective later tried to view the footage but discovered it corrupted. A subsequent forensic examination found that the files had been overwritten with zeroes.
The department fired Tonn but reinstated him after he prevailed in an arbitration hearing. In December, California Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to charge Tonn in connection with the shooting.
Monterrosa was born and raised in San Francisco, where he was involved in organizations such as Horizons Unlimited, Lifeworks, and the Excelsior Boys and Girls Club, according to the supervisors’ resolution. He mentored youth and encouraged his peers to read social justice literature.
In the last text message he sent before his death, Monterrosa asked his sisters to sign a petition for justice for George Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis Police Ofc. Derek Chauvin one week prior.
The commemorative street name, Sean Monterrosa Boulevard, is adjacent to the Knowledge Up Community Library, created in Monterrosa’s honor to encourage young people to read about social justice leaders and issues. The city previously honored Monterrosa with a mural unveiled last year at South Van Ness Avenue and 24th Street in the nearby Mission District.
“We’re feeling very grateful and excited that this is finally becoming a reality. It’s something that we always have dreamed of,” said Ashley Monterrosa, his sister. “It just makes us feel very honored that we get to showcase, and heal with community, the love and legacy that Sean has left behind, not just to our family but the community as a whole.”
