Reason’s family files wrongful death lawsuit
The cities of Vallejo, Richmond sued in 2019 officer-related shooting
The family of Eric Reason, the 38-year-old who died in 2019 in an officer-related shooting, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the cities of Vallejo and Richmond.
Melissa C. Nold of Nold Law as well as Adante D. Pointer and Patrick Buena of Pointer @ Buena LLP are representing the Reason family.
Reason was killed by Sgt. Virgil Thomas, an off-duty Richmond police officer on Nov. 10, 2019. The shooting occurred at JJ’s Fish and Chicken’s parking lot, near the intersection of Fairgrounds and Sereno drives.
Vallejo Public Information Officer Christina Lee responded to the suit in a statement sent to the Times-Herald on Tuesday: “The city attorney’s office has not yet been able to evaluate the claim. However, the city is saddened by the death of Eric Reason and sends condolences to his family. Mr. Reason’s family is fully within their rights to file a lawsuit to seek redress and compensation. Our country’s founders created a system of federal courts to ensure fairness and justice for all parties. The city supports that system and will proceed with integrity and compassion to address the claims raised by Mr. Reason’s family in a fair and objective manner.”
Videos from the night of the shooting show Thomas and Reason both going for the same parking spot in their vehicles. Thomas is driving a Mercedes, while Reason is driving a van. As a pedestrian blocks Reason, Thomas pulls into the coveted parking spot.
Reason then parks his van behind Thomas and walks over to confront Thomas. A heated discussion takes place before Reason walks back toward his van, while Thomas walks in the direction of the convenience store. At this point, Thomas stops and observes Reason opening the hood of his van, where he appears to pick up a pistol before walking toward Thomas with the gun in his hand.
The two again exchange words, until Reason turns back toward his van. At that point, Thomas can be seen drawing a weapon before beginning to shoot. Reason then begins to run away, turning his back to Thomas while moving toward the middle of the parking lot. Reason is running across Sereno Drive, about 50 to 100 feet away from Thomas, with his back to the officer — when he is fatally struck and falls to the ground.
Within hours of the videos’ release, the president of the Richmond police union and an attorney for the Reason family issued drastically different takes on the footage, the former calling it a vindication of Thomas’ actions, and the latter saying it shows a “cold-blooded murder.”
In May of 2020, the City of Vallejo rejected a legal claim filed by the family of Reason.
This week’s lawsuit claims that Vallejo police failed to remove Reason from the scene in a proper way. Nold was at the scene that night in 2019. It also asks why Thomas wasn’t sequestered immediately.
“This case sticks out because of the egregious nature of the shooting, but also the way it was handled by the Vallejo police afterward,” Nold told the TimesHerald on Tuesday. “They allowed the Vallejo police officer (Thomas) to stay on the scene afterward as the family observed the situation. I saw numerous police officers sticking their head under the tarp and sheet to get a look at Reason before they pulled him away.
“My biggest concern was how the information was relayed a week later by the police when they said it was justified,” Nold continued. “They left out the part that he was screaming, ‘Don’t let them kill me’ from 50 feet away as he was running away. Did he have a gun? Yes. Nobody is denying that. But he should have been taken into custody and jail. He never raises his hand with the gun. It was something illegal, but it didn’t warrant his death. The Richmond police officer should have yelled out, ‘Hands up’ and then Eric’s hands would have gone up.There was no imminent threat of harm.”
This past August, Thomas died of COVID-19. He was 52.
The Richmond Police Department released a statement in August, describing Thomas, a 24-year-veteran with the RPD, as “a youth mentor and dedicated public servant.”
“He was dedicated to public service — as President of the Guardians of Justice (a community charitable organization to ensure the fair treatment of African American officers), he led various neighborhood events and giveaways to enrich the lives of those in the Richmond community,” the statement said.
Thomas also once held the position of Richmond Police Officers Association President.
The City of Vallejo recently reached a $5.7 million settlement — one of the largest settlements in Bay Area history — in a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Ronell Foster. The family of Oscar Grant, for instance, settled a federal suit with BART police for $2.8 million,
Foster was shot by Vallejo Police Officer Ryan McMahon multiple times in the back of the head the night of Feb. 13, 2018, in downtown Vallejo. Foster had grabbed McMahon’s flashlight and allegedly threatened him with it as the pair struggled in an alleyway. The 33-year-old Foster, a father of two, died at the scene.
Nold said that her firm doesn’t put up monetary demands and that the cases of Reason and Foster shouldn’t necessarily be compared.