Vallejo officer in beating video staying on duty

A Vallejo police officer seen in two cell phone videos tackling and beating an unarmed man on the median strip of a road and aiming his gun at onlookers will remain on patrol duty as officials investigate the incident, authorities said.

“Just like anyone else, officers are innocent until proven guilty,” Lt. Jeff Bassett of the Vallejo Police Department said in a statement. “Violence is always ugly, but police officers are exposed to violent situations every day

and they are required to overcome that violence, not just match it.”

The unarmed man was identified Monday by police as Dejuan Hall, 23, of Vacaville. He was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence, resisting arrest, resisting or threatening an officer with force, and a probation violation.

Bassett did not elaborate on why the officer chased Hall. He said the officer involved in the beating was not placed on administrative leave despite the two videos posted on social media Saturday.

“We are aware of the attention this particular incident has gained and therefore I have ordered a full and complete investigation to be conducted,” Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou said in a statement released Monday. “Upon completion, I will thoroughly review the entire investigation and personally make a final determination.”

The incident occurred around 1 p.m. Friday after police received a 911 call from a gas station attendant at a Valero on the 1600 block of Fairgrounds Drive reporting that a man was threatening her.

The man entered the gas station and attempted to buy a Greyhound bus ticket to Sacramento, which are sold there, the owner of the Valero told The Chronicle on Monday.

The man’s credit card didn’t work when the cashier attempted to run it five or six times, the owner said. When the attendant handed the rejected credit card back, the man became angry, said the owner, who asked not to be identified.

“He started acting belligerent with (the attendant). She got scared and called the police,” the owner said, adding that the attendant is 21 years old.

The owner said the man began cursing and forming his fingers in the shape of a gun, threatening the attendant and others inside the gas station’s mini market.

Throughout the incident, the man was yelling, “I am God! I am the police! You cannot do anything to me,” the owner said.

In one of the videos, the police officer, whose name was not released, chases Hall across Fairgrounds Drive. Hall sits on the center median as the police officer runs up behind him, flings his arms around Hall and throws him to the ground as onlookers scream in protest.

The officer, wearing rubber gloves, mounts Hall, punching him in the head and repeatedly striking him with an object that appears to be a flashlight or a baton. As the crowd comes closer, the officer screams, “Shut up! Get back!” as he reaches for his gun.

As a second officer rolls up in a patrol car, the first officer continues striking Hall.

In the second video, the police officer is seen yelling at the crowd to back off as he pulls his gun out of his holster and points it toward unseen bystanders before re-holstering it. A bystander can be heard screaming, “Shoot me!” as the officer points his gun.

The first officer continues to hit Hall as the two officers attempt to put Hall in handcuffs.

“It’s important that no one make any assumptions without having all the available facts,” Bassett said.

In 2015, the Vallejo Police Department reported 79 use-of-force incidents, compared to 186 in 2014. There were no available numbers for 2016.