Ex-police captain set to move forward with lawsuit

City, VPD are the targets in ‘whistleblower’ case

Former Vallejo Police Captain John Whitney appears to be moving forward with a “whistleblower” lawsuit against the city, the police department, City Manager Greg Nyhoff, and former chiefs Andrew Bidou and Joseph Allio, KGO has reported.

Whitney claims that he was let go for speaking up about several issues, including exposing the “bent badges” scandal that alleges that officers bent star points back on their badges after killing someone in the line of duty.

Nyhoff told people gathered at a town hall to discuss police matters on Oct. 1 of this year that it “appears true” that officers were bending their badges to celebrate kills and he pledged that there would be discipline. A third-party investigation of the practice was launched by Chief Shawny Wiliams in late July.

According to KGO, Whitney also alleges that when he brought up the misconduct, then chief Bidou rounded up the badges in an attempt to send them for repairs but realized that if finance saw a bill for ten badge repairs they might start asking questions.

Whitney also alleges that on the evening that Willie McCoy was shot and killed in the Taco Bell drive thru, their supervisors were back at the station watching Netflix. He alleges that once he told Bidou, “He did not want an investigation conducted because it would add further liability to the department for failure to supervise,” KGO reported. Bidou did not return requests for comment to ABC-7.

McCoy’s family filed a federal civil rights wrongful death lawsuit in June. McCoy fell asleep in the drive-thru line in February and when he awoke he was allegedly surrounded by officers telling him to put his hands up. In a video press release put out by the VPD, the department alleges that McCoy reached to his lap where he had a gun and six officers fired at him. He was hit with 55 bullets and killed.

Whitney was fired in August of 2019 and the VPD told the Times-Herald that the reasons for his dismissal were “confidential.” During his tenure, he received a Medal of Courage and a lifetime achievement award from the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST).

Open Vallejo reported that Whitney was terminated for removing personal data from his work cellphone while he was being investigated for improperly handling information. He was later cleared of these allegations.

Mayor Bob Sampayan wrote a letter attached to the ex- captain’s initial claim filed in March.

“Frankly, I believe that because John spoke out about a negative culture in the Vallejo Police Department, his reputation was soiled by those who did not want ‘dirty laundry’ aired,” he wrote.

The city claims Whitney’s suit has not yet been filed, according to KGO. Whitney’s lawyer might be holding out for 2021, when a new whistleblower law goes into effect that awards plaintiffs lawyers’ fees if they prevail.