Open Vallejo News Archives

A young Black woman wearing a "Justice for Mario Romero" shirt speaks into a microphone at a nighttime gathering with other families impacted by police violence. She is holding a single candle that burns with a tall flame, lighting her face in a warm glow.

Court rules Vallejo illegally destroyed evidence in police killings

by Geoffrey King June 27, 2023January 23, 2025

A Vallejo police officer wearing a helmet and carrying a rifle walks past police SUVs as the sun sets in Vallejo, California. Crime scene tape can be seen in the foreground.

California’s attorney general wants court oversight of Vallejo police. Here is what that means.

by Laurence Du Sault June 20, 2023February 10, 2024

Vallejo Police Chief Jason Ta leaves a Vallejo City Council meeting, bag of documents in hand. The images catches him mid-stride. He is an Asian American man in his 50s in a dark blue police chief's uniform. The first several rows of seats are nearly empty of audience members.

Vallejo police to update city on DOJ reforms

by Geoffrey King and Laurence Du Sault May 16, 2023October 27, 2023

California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at a lectern featuring the seal of his office. The flags of California and the United States of America hang on poles behind him.

Civil rights investigation ‘on the table’ in Vallejo, Bonta says

by Geoffrey King and Laurence Du Sault May 11, 2023October 27, 2023

A white woman in her 50s with gray hair and wearing a floral print dress speaks from a public comment lectern at a city council meeting.

Open Government

Solano County supervisors vote to preserve records commission

by Brendan Riley May 5, 2023October 31, 2023

A full-page historical newspaper advertisement for the redlined "Vista de Vallejo" neighborhood in the Vallejo Evening Chronicle.

How decades of racist housing policies shaped modern Vallejo

by Brendan Riley May 5, 2023October 27, 2023

Frank Melville's mugshots, from the front and side.

News

‘The purpose of punishment is not to wreak vengeance’: the remarkable story of Vallejo’s ‘boy bandit’

by Brendan Riley April 5, 2023February 20, 2024

A crowd of people gathers for a vigil behind a building at nighttime. A Black woman holds a flag with the visage of Ronell Foster, a 33-year-old father of two who was killed by Vallejo police in 2018. The flag reads "National Unity Against Police Brutality," "2018 Vallejo CA," and "Justice for Ronell Foster."

State Justice Department has not probed — or even logged — all police shootings of possibly unarmed people

by Nigel Duara March 30, 2023October 27, 2023

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.

News

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