Open Vallejo (https://openvallejo.org/tag/city-of-vallejo/)
A disturbing history of domestic violence, verbal clashes with colleagues and constituents, and vocal support for Vallejo police defined the former council member’s turbulent tenure.
The Vallejo City Attorney’s Office hopes to identify the authors behind two pseudonymous social media accounts, confidential records obtained by Open Vallejo show.
If Nichelini is reinstated, “it should raise concern from the streets of Vallejo to the attorney general’s office about how seriously the police department is taking reform,” Otis R. Taylor, Jr., the reporter who received the menacing email, told Open Vallejo.
The Journalistic Integrity Award is Open Vallejo’s eighth since 2019, and its second from an organization focused on criminal justice.
In 2020, the California DOJ endorsed 45 reforms for Vallejo police. The department has implemented just two of them.
The City of Vallejo has signed a $100,000 consulting agreement with former Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn, whose tenure included the fatal shootings of Stephon Clark and Darrell Richards.
Half a century ago, Vallejo had twice as many patrol officers per resident as it does today.
Vallejo Police Department policy requires written authorization before officers launch drones. When an Open Vallejo investigation found no evidence that the rule was being followed, the department decided to change it.
Vallejo police need better facilities and deserve safe working conditions, write Andrea Sorce and Anne Carr, but a waterfront headquarters at 400 Mare Island Way is not the answer.
Former Lt. Herman Robinson, Vallejo’s longest-serving police officer, accused Chief Shawny Williams of making false statements under oath as Williams sought to fire him, records obtained by Open Vallejo show.