Hakeem Brown Archives - Open Vallejo

A Black councilmember in his 40s smiles excitedly while speaking with the City of Vallejo's first Black police chief inside a city council chambers while surrounded by other councilmembers and members of the news media.

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NAACP threatens to eject Hakeem Brown from organization

by Geoffrey King March 15, 2023October 27, 2023

Then-Councilmember Hakeem Brown, who is a Black man in his mid-40s, listens to a speaker out of frame from the dais of the Vallejo City Council chambers. Brown, who is in sharp focus, is wearing glasses and a hoodie, and sports a closely-cropped beard. His colleagues, who are out of focus, are seen behind him. A "City of Vallejo" sign is partially visible on the wall.

Hakeem Brown not Vallejo NAACP president, NAACP leader alleges

by Laurence Du Sault March 10, 2023October 27, 2023

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.

Hakeem Brown to lead Vallejo NAACP despite domestic violence revelations

by Geoffrey King January 13, 2023October 27, 2023

Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams is sworn into office under the gaze of a city surveillance camera on Nov. 12, 2019. A BuzzFeed News investigation found that Vallejo was one of more than 1,800 public entities to use a facial recognition technology so powerful, it is the subject of numerous lawsuits and several government probes. A Vallejo police spokesperson said the department’s command staff were unaware of its use prior to being contacted for comment by Open Vallejo.

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Vallejo police secretly tested ‘dystopian’ facial recognition tool

by Brian Howey April 13, 2021April 29, 2025

Vallejo City Councilmember Hakeem Brown, right, attends the swearing-in of Police Chief Shawny Williams last November. Elected to the council in 2018, Brown has rapidly consolidated political power by aligning himself with Vallejo’s powerful public safety unions.

‘Domestic violence bordering on torture’: records reveal years of allegations against Vallejo councilmember

by Geoffrey King October 13, 2020January 29, 2025