Police Department releases new set of critical incident records

New records involving the Vallejo Police Department in critical incidents are now accessible to the public.

This latest release is part of the department’s ongoing effort to comply with The Right to Know Act (SB 1421) under the California Public Records Act, which went into effect in January of 2019.

“Providing this information to the public is a top priority for our department,” said Vallejo Chief of Police Shawny Williams in a news release. “Not only do we want to comply with the State law, but we also want to continue strengthening our relationship with our community by being open and transparent in our communications, especially when it comes to critical incidents.”

SB 1421 mandates that the public be given access to records relating to police misconduct and serious uses of force. The VPD continues to work on collecting information from previous incidents that fall under this act. We will keep our community abreast of any new developments or additions to our website.

“It is our hope that the release of these records will give our community insight and understanding,” Chief Williams stated. “That is always the end goal.”

The Vallejo Police Depar tment came under scrutiny over the summer when it had a 38-hour delay between the death of 22- year- old Sean Monterrosa and a news conference. The long delay got the attention of local elected officials like Assemblyman Tim Grayson.

“Regardless of circumstances, it is absolutely unacceptable that the public was forced to wait for over 24 hours to learn of the conditions of those involved in the shooting,” Grayson said in June.