VALLEJO, CA – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Vallejo community will attend a public comment meeting of California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Thursday to demand the decertification of nine police officers, according to a story in Open Vallejo.
The officers in question are all from the Vallejo Police Department, and the reason for the community’s demands is their reported participation in the lethal killings of multiple people, the ACLU said.
The ACLU substantiated a complaint on the officers per Senate Bill 2—which requires POST to investigate any allegations of misconduct, said Open Vallejo.
The officers in question include, currently employed, Colin Eaton, Bryan Glick, Jordan Patzer, Mark Thompson, Jarrett Tonn; formerly employed, Anthony Romero-Cano, Sean Kenney, Dustin Joseph, and Ryan McMahon.
It is stated, in Open Vallejo’s story, the police force of Vallejo PD includes records of lethal violence, specifically Thompson, Eaton, Patzer, Glick, Romero-Cano, and McMahon were allegedly part of the fatal shooting of Willie McCoy in 2019. And, it’s charged Tonn shot Sean Monterrosa in 2020, and McMahon shot Ronell Foster in 2018.
There were more fatal shootings, writes Open Vallejo, but the total count of deaths currently noted by the ACLU is seven.
Open Vallejo charges, “Vallejo police (have) killed at least 20 people between 2010 and 2022, making the department one of the deadliest law enforcement agencies per capita in the country.”
It is because of this, Open Vallejo said, the ACLU has reportedly “focused resources on Vallejo to monitor the implementation of law enforcement accountability measures and advocate for alternative emergency response programs.”
According to Senate Bill 2, also known as the Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Act of 2021, POST is required “to investigate allegations of serious misconduct and begin decertifying officers who abuse their authority,” said Open Vallejo.
The publication added 83 reports were submitted to the ACLU under the Bill, according to a 2023 audit, and that 65 of those were closed without action being taken.
Legal policy advocate of Northern California’s ACLU, Marshal Arnwine, said, “If POST does not use its authority to review and investigate these [current] allegations, the Vallejo community will continue to suffer brutality at the hands of a police department that lacks accountability.”
Within the ACLU’s complaint, according to Open Vallejo, is a request for POST to take action on the lethal violence caused and unanswered by the Vallejo Police officers. They have also requested POST to make public any findings from the previous investigations of these officers.
