Editor's Pick Archives - Open Vallejo

Grainy black-and-white surveillance image shows Darryl Mefferd, handcuffed and wearing a Chicago Bulls shirt, leaning forward in the backseat of a police vehicle. He appears distressed. A timestamp in the upper-left corner reads “2016-12-07 23:54:12.”

‘I can’t breathe’: video shows death Vallejo police concealed for years

by Anna Bauman May 14, 2025May 15, 2025

Two older men stand outside at sunset, one with glasses and a mustache, the other with a beard and wearing sunglasses. Bare tree branches cast shadows behind them as they face the camera in low, warm light.

Vallejo advocate charged over ‘offensive words,’ raising constitutional concerns

by Matthew Brown April 13, 2025April 13, 2025

A young adult wearing glasses and a black graduation cap with a tassel reading “16” stands in front of a crowd at a commencement ceremony. He’s dressed in a robe with a red stole, over a collared button-down shirt, and holds a black diploma cover bearing the seal of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. A red and black balloon arch and other graduates are visible in the background.

Berkeley man, missing for two years, ‘left everything behind’ to join Zizians

by Anna Bauman February 17, 2025March 5, 2025

A low‐lit scene outside a gray building bearing the address “333 LEMON.” Yellow crime‐scene tape stretches diagonally across the frame, with a police officer or investigator bent over near the building’s foundation. A grassy lawn slopes up from a wooden retaining wall in the foreground.

Suspects in killings of Vallejo witness, Vermont border patrol agent connected by marriage license, extreme ideology

by Anna Bauman and Matthew Brown January 27, 2025January 29, 2025

A Vallejo police officer gestures while holding a gun in one hand, his uniform and vehicle illuminated by the warm light of late afternoon. The background shows a sign for Kyles Temple A.M.E. Zion Church.

As Vallejo police force shrinks, 911 response times soar

by Anna Bauman September 23, 2024January 28, 2025

A portrait of Darryl Mefferd

The secret death of Darryl Dean Mefferd

by Laurence Du Sault June 10, 2024January 27, 2025

Two SWAT officers in tactical gear during a daylight operation in a suburban setting. One officer is standing while carrying a rifle, wearing a helmet and protective glasses. The other officer is standing beside a fence, pointing a handgun up toward a second-story window. The background shows dry vegetation.

SWAT officer among Vallejo police with DUI convictions

by Anna Bauman May 1, 2024January 28, 2025

A police investigator wearing a dark suit with salt and pepper hair stands outside against a glass wall during daytime.

‘A whitewash and a coverup’: an interview with Vallejo police whistleblower John Whitney

by Geoffrey King December 6, 2023March 20, 2025

A Black woman in her early 40s wearing a white shirt poses for a portrait on her porch at sunset. An uncannily-accurate tattoo of her twin brother Charles, who was killed by Vallejo police in 2007, when they were 26, adorns her right arm.

Vallejo police concealed violent deaths for years, Open Vallejo lawsuit reveals

by Laurence Du Sault August 24, 2023January 28, 2025

Two senior police officers leave a conference room holding various items.

Under union pressure, Vallejo police chief ends body camera analysis

by Laurence Du Sault July 9, 2023January 29, 2025