Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Video Shows Vallejo Officer Fatally Shot Man From Back Seat
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
July 9, 2020

Share

VALLEJO — Video released Wednesday shows a Vallejo police detective in a pickup truck firing a rifle through the windshield, killing a man officers thought had a gun but turned out to be carrying a hammer.
The killing of 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa just after midnight on June 2 in Vallejo has prompted protests.

Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams initially said the San Francisco man was kneeling at the time. In the video released by police, Williams said a detective described what he believed was Monterrosa “turning towards the officers in a crouching-down, half-kneeling position, as if in preparation to shoot.”
Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams initially said the San Francisco man was kneeling at the time. In the video released by police, Williams said a detective described what he believed was Monterrosa “turning towards the officers in a crouching-down, half-kneeling position, as if in preparation to shoot.”
The detective also saw Monterrosa appear to grab at the butt of a gun at his waist. It turned out to be the handle of a 15-inch hammer tucked into his sweatshirt pocket.
Monterrosa’s family members and their attorneys watched the video for the first time Wednesday at City Hall and expressed doubts that Monterrosa posed a threat to officers.
“Everyone’s playing hot potato over my brother’s death,” Michelle Monterrosa, Monterrosa’s sister, said after seeing the video. “Sean deserves to be here. … It just shows how the system continues to fail us all.”
“Nobody saw a gun, they couldn’t have seen a gun because he didn’t have a gun,” attorney Melissa Nold said.
The shooting has sparked protests over that and other incidents involving the Vallejo department, which has one of the highest rates of police shootings in the state.
Monterrosa was suspected of being with several men thought to be stealing from the pharmacy on a night of national protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The video contains body camera footage from three detectives who were inside the unmarked truck, which they were using to respond to reports of stealing at a Walgreens. Some of the video from inside the truck is silent, and none of it shows the actual shooting.

Video From Inside the Pickup Shows a Rifle Being Fired Five Times Through the Windshield

The pickup didn’t have a dashboard camera, making it impossible to see Monterrosa’s position before the shooting. An outside store security camera that might have captured the shooting had been destroyed in a previous theft, police said.
The video also contains audio from a police captain who was heading to the pharmacy in an unmarked SUV, telling a dispatcher that the suspects might be armed.
Video from inside the pickup shows a rifle being fired five times through the windshield by a detective in the back seat.
The driver then gets out and stands by the truck door with his gun drawn.
The detective who fired asks: “What did he point at us?”
“I don’t know man,” another detective replies.
“Hey, he pointed a gun at us!” the detective with the rifle yells. Detectives with guns raised approach Monterrosa.
“Don’t move! Do not move!” police are heard yelling, apparently at Monterrosa, who in other angles is seen lying on the ground outside of the store. The detectives approach shouting: “Hands up! Hands up!”
Later, camera footage shows a police officer performing chest compressions on Monterrosa, who was struck by a single shot. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The officer who fired was an 18-year veteran, the chief said.
He has been placed on paid administrative leave. The Solano County District Attorney recused her office from further review of the shooting.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra declined to independently investigate the shooting; however, his office agreed last month to take up a wider review of the Vallejo Police Department’s policing policies and practices.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

DON'T MISS

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

DON'T MISS

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

DON'T MISS

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

DON'T MISS

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

DON'T MISS

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

DON'T MISS

Music Legend Quincy Jones, Architect of Pop’s Greatest Hits, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

UP NEXT

Big Spenders: These Companies Are Giving the Most to California Legislative Candidates

UP NEXT

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

UP NEXT

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

UP NEXT

Southern California County Official Pleads Guilty to Bribery Charge in COVID Funds Scheme

UP NEXT

Visalia Rollerblader Suffered Major Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Indicted for Possessing Stolen Guns

UP NEXT

Anti-Semitic Incident at Oakland Cafe Raises Concerns About Rising Intolerance

UP NEXT

Schwarzenegger Endorses Harris, Warns Against Another Trump Term

UP NEXT

Will Noncitizens Be Able to Vote? This California City Will Decide Their Fate

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

54 mins ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

60 mins ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

2 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

2 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

2 hours ago

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

3 hours ago

Music Legend Quincy Jones, Architect of Pop’s Greatest Hits, Dies at 91

3 hours ago

Big Pharma Backs Harris 6-to-1 Over Trump in Presidential Campaign Contributions

3 hours ago

Sanger Men Arrested in Connection with Slingshot Vandalism Spree at Businesses

3 hours ago

What Is Sierra Unified’s Plan to Boost Lagging Student Achievement?

4 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

This year’s early voting period appears to be far more polluted with election misinformation than those in previous presidential races, acco...

28 mins ago

Voters cast their ballots at Desert Breeze Community Center in Las Vegas during the last day of in-person early voting in Nevada on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself. (Bridget Bennett/The New York Times)
28 mins ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

36 mins ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

40 mins ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

54 mins ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

60 mins ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

Gerrick Franklin (pictured), 34, was taken into custody Sunday in Madera County on suspicion of killing Tyler Hamon, 33. (Fresno PD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

2 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on stage during a campaign rally in Lititz, Pa., on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. Trump told supporters on Sunday that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House at the end of his term during an end-of-campaign rally where he vented angrily about a spate of new public polls showing him losing ground to Vice President Kamala Harris and joked about reporters being shot at. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

Search

Send this to a friend