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Open Vallejo - Knowledge is power. Power to the people.

Open Vallejo (https://openvallejo.org/tag/city-of-vallejo/)

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City of Vallejo

Then-Vallejo Councilmember Hakeem Brown speaks at a city council meeting on police reform on Dec. 6, 2022. Brown is a Black man in his mid-40s wearing glasses, a green Pendleton-style cap and green vest over a black shirt. He has a goatee.
Civil Rights

Hakeem Brown to lead Vallejo NAACP despite domestic violence revelations

By Geoffrey King | January 13, 2023

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.

A stocking hanging outside the Vallejo City Attorney’s office on Dec. 21, 2022 reads, “We’ve been GOOD, we PROMISE!!” In September, Deputy City Attorney Katelyn Knight hired a firm to uncover the identities of authors behind two social media accounts, an Open Vallejo investigation has found.
Surveillance

Vallejo spends thousands to expose online commenters

By Geoffrey King | December 23, 2022

The Vallejo City Attorney’s Office hopes to identify the authors behind two pseudonymous social media accounts, confidential records obtained by Open Vallejo show.

Vallejo Police Lt. Michael Nichelini takes a selfie with colleagues in front of his family’s winery in St. Helena, Calif. during a “training ride” on Nov. 14, 2019.
Public Safety

Termination overturned for Vallejo police lieutenant who threatened journalist

By Geoffrey King | December 1, 2022

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.

Awards
The logo for California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a statewide advocacy group. It is blue, white and black, and features a hand holding the scales of justice and the text, "CACJ."

Open Vallejo wins statewide criminal justice award for journalistic integrity

By Open Vallejo | November 10, 2022

The Journalistic Integrity Award is Open Vallejo’s eighth since 2019, and its second from an organization focused on criminal justice.

Featured
Members of Willie McCoy's family hug in front of Vallejo City Hall during a protest on Feb. 28, 2019, three weeks after Vallejo police killed the 20-year-old.

Vallejo police reforms stall despite scrutiny over killings

By Laurence Du Sault | November 8, 2022

In 2020, the California DOJ endorsed 45 reforms for Vallejo police. The department has implemented just two of them.

Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams is seen at his swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 12, 2019, at Vallejo City Hall.
City Manager

Vallejo police chief resigns, former Sacramento chief to consult

By Laurence Du Sault and Geoffrey King | November 4, 2022

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.

Five Vallejo police officers pose indoors with another man in a black and white group photograph taken in the 1970s or early 1980s. Front row, left to right: John Lynch, Peter Zander, Ronald Guerra. Back row: unknown, Herbert Shrum, Burky Worel, Louis Baldino.
Public Safety

Vallejo patrol staffing drops below 1975 levels

By Laurence Du Sault and Geoffrey King | September 21, 2022

Half a century ago, Vallejo had twice as many patrol officers per resident as it does today.

An overhead view taken from a drone shows a Black man being placed against a police SUV as he is arrested during daytime.
Privacy

Vallejo police to weaken drone policy amid potential violations

By Brian Howey | April 21, 2022

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.

City Hall
An office building is framed with flowers in the foreground at dusk

Vallejo’s waterfront is for community, not cops

By Andrea Sorce and Anne Carr | March 8, 2022

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.

Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams speaks with the media at his swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 12, 2019.
Ethics

Claim alleges false testimony by Vallejo police chief

By Laurence Du Sault, Katy St. Clair and Geoffrey King | November 1, 2021

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.

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