An (in)complete list of Vallejo Police Misconduct/Excessive Force Incidents

Pertinent Information Regarding “Vallejo Police Outsourcing Report Writing”
 
An article entitled “Vallejo Police Outsource Report Writing” (Tuesday, September 29, 2009) stated the following:  “The Police Department is now using a transcription service based in Tennessee—(Nashville-McLintock Transcription and Consulting Services) to write up its police reports.  The reports are dictated into a digital audio file then sent via a secure connection to Nashville-McLintock, where retired law-enforcement officials write them up.”
 Note:  The Vallejo police officers DO NOT write their own police reports!  They are “outsourced!”  So, are the “outsourced” police reports a TRUE representation of what actually occurred the day of an incident?!?!?!?!
 
California Public Records Act (CPRA):
 Is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in California.  Statues 6250-6270 define the law.  In 1968, the Legislature enacted the CPRA ‘for the purpose of increasing freedom of information by giving the members of the public access to information in the possession of public agencies.’  Consistent with this purpose, the Legislature declared that “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.”  Since 2004, the California Constitution has confirmed the principle:  “The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and, therefore, the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny.”
 
Officer Names Are Not Exempt Disclosure: 
 An officer’s name is typically not private and is available to the public when an officer wears a badge depicting his or her name or signs a police report.
Note:  Citizens of Vallejo can send the Vallejo Police Department a California Public Records Act (CPRA) Request, requesting the police report as well as the names of ALL police officers involved in the shooting death of their loved ones.  A sample letter can be found on the internet!

Police Misconduct/Excessive Force Incidents by the Vallejo Police:
·         Anton Barrett, Sr. (May 28, 2012)-shot and killed by a Vallejo police officer after allegedly running toward the officer with, what turned out to be, his black metal wallet.  The officer thought the object was a gun.  The officer fired, several times, mortally wounding Anton Barrett, Sr., although he tried to get up and was shocked with a stun gun after the shooting officer told other officers that he had a gun.

·         Peter Mestler (May 2012)-shot and killed by a Vallejo police officer after allegedly reaching into his jacket and pulling out a gun and refusing to drop it after police officers instructed him to do so.  The officer(s) opened fire.  Peter Mestler was allegedly armed with a BB gun.

·         Belle (11 year-old Labrador-DOG) (May 16, 2012)-shot, twice, in the head by Vallejo police officer, Chase Calhoun, who came to a family’s home, unannounced, to follow up on an identity theft report filed by the homeowner.  It was stated that Officer Calhoun checked for dogs before entering the fenced yard.  After seeing none, he entered through the gate and walked about 15 feet toward the porch.  Then, suddenly, two-medium-sized dogs came charging around the house from the backyard.  They were reportedly “lunging and snarling.”  Officer Calhoun tried to back up and get out of the yard, but both dogs closed the distance on him.  In defense, Officer Calhoun fired two rounds, killing the dog closest to him.  Calhoun, then, retreated out of the yard and called for backup.

·         Lonnel Duchine (April 15, 2011)-handcuffed and cited for recording, from his garage, four people being arrested near his home.  Officer Scott Yates approached him and asked for his cellphone, saying it was “evidence.”  After Duchine refused, he was handcuffed and issued a ticket for obstructing justice.

·         Michael Todd White (June 15, 2010)-It was reported that White had been involved in a minor dispute with a neighbor.  After a brief altercation, he retreated back to his home where he resided with his girlfriend.  The Vallejo Police Department responded to a call about the incident, with a full force of six police cruisers, followed by additional six or more cruisers plus motorcycle law enforcement personnel.  After entering the home and trapping White in the small bathroom of his trailer home, the Vallejo Police Department took the hinges off of his bathroom door and arrested him without incident.  A Code 4 call went out to dispatch alerting that the situation was under control.  However, after removing all residents from the home and handcuffing White, a disturbance took place and White was tasered several times.  A Code 3 call then went out to dispatch to send an ambulance.  The call to dispatch never occurred while arresting White leading many to believe White was tasered while handcuffed.  White was removed from the residence lifeless, dropped on a cement slab and then put on a gurney.  Although reports have White expiring at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo, it is widely believed that his body was taken to Kaiser so a doctor could pronounce him dead on arrival and his body could be taken to the city morgue.

·         Ronar J. Inocencio (July 3, 2010)-Inocencio, 33, was in a group of 800 to 1,000 gathered in North Vallejo Community Park, celebrating Mac Dre Day around 9 p.m. when a man was robbed and shot.  Police arriving at the shooting scene saw Inocencio running away.  Officer Fabio Rodriguez chased Inocencio, who dropped a gun, picked it up and continued running.  Inocencio stopped, turned and pointed the gun at the officers.  He was shot twice and wounded.  Inocencio later pleaded no contest to felony assault on a peace officer and brandishing a firearm.

·         Dennis J. Merrida (December 30, 2009)-Minutes after a 3 p.m. armed robbery on Sheridan Street, Merrida, an ex-con and parolee, was spotted by Officer James Melville.  He matched the description of one of the robbers and was standing on a nearby street corner.  Melville saw a gun in Merrida’s hand.  It turned out to be a replica hand gun.  Merrida started to run away, but turned around and ran toward Melville.  Merrida raised his gun and Melville shot him once in the chest.  Merrida who was wounded still faces pending felony charges.  In February, he was declared mentally incompetent and was sent to a secured state mental hospital.

·         Kevin A. Trapps (June 13, 2005)-formally accused two police officers of assaulting him with excessive force after he checked on his teenage son, who had just been shocked with a police stun gun.  Kevin A. Trapps alleged that Vallejo police officers Dustin Joseph and Jeremy Huff “jumped me from behind” and Huff “kicked me and twisted my wrists to the point I thought he had broken them.”
more info [http://vallejocopwatch.blogspot.com/2005/06/2005-06-13-kevin-trapps-and-family.html]

·         Melvin Ainsworth (March 2005)-blindsided by Vallejo police officer Jeremie Patzer while he was walking, alone, across a bridge.  Police said the incident began with a call that a much younger man was dangling a baby over the bridge railing.  Ainsworth said he suffered a cracked rib and knee and wrist injuries.  He had a cut lip and a blackened eye and six stitches were required to close a gash along his eyebrow.  It was only later that Ainsworth learned from police that a caller had alerted the authorities, thinking he was about to jump or had a baby dangling over the edge of the bridge.  Jeremie Patzer, 31, apologized after tackling Ainsworth.

·         Andrew Washington (September 16, 2004)-shocked 17 times, in three minutes, with a Taser by Vallejo police because he fled after hitting a parked car.  Officers only stopped shocking him when they noticed he was having trouble breathing.  Washington, 21, a father of one, died after being transported to the hospital.

·         Marwin Prado (March 26, 1998)-Vallejo police responded to a call about a man behaving strangely, tearing up the kitchen and garage.  Marwin was found sitting on a curb allegedly with a .38 caliber gun in his pocket.  When he refused to obey orders, he was shot and killed.

·         Jeffrey Tharp (November 7, 1997)-Vallejo police responded to a call about domestic violence.  Jeffrey Tharp was shot and killed when he did not respond to police orders.  Police alleged that he was holding a gun.
 
Information on the Vallejo police officer who Murdered Guy Jarreau on Saturday, December 11, 2010·         Badge Number:  588.
·         When Guy Jarreau was MURDERED, Michael “Kent” Tribble was a 10-year veteran with the Vallejo Police Department.
·         On October 28, 2011, Michael “Kent” Tribble received the 12025 Award, which is the California Penal Code for possession of a concealed firearm, for making numerous firearms arrests.
·         Officer Kent Tribble was named, among others, in a lawsuit regarding excessive force/police misconduct (Eric Garfield Williams, Plaintiff, v. Sean Kenney, Et Al., Defendants).  The Plaintiff alleged that on July 15, 2006, he was stopped by Vallejo Police Officers Sean Kenney, Kent Tribble, Cpl. Botello and other unidentified officers.  Defendants used excessive force in handcuffing him and physically assaulted him.  Plaintiff further alleged that the officers took him to the hospital where they continued to harass and assault him.