FAMILY, FRIENDS WANT JUSTICE FOR RAMOS
Coat, food drive and march held nearly five years after he was killed by VPD
Antionette Saddler, the older sister of Angel Ramos, was emotional when she stood on the steps of Vallejo City Hall and said her brother “was not a trophy” for any police department.
That being said, the spirit of Ramos’ life shined brightly during a rally for him in downtown Vallejo on Saturday.
Five years after Angel Ramos, then 21, was killed by Vallejo Police Officer Zachary Jacobsen, friends and family members of Ramos marched the streets of downtown Vallejo to raise awareness for Ramos in life and death.
A coat drive was also held earlier in the day, with 100 men and women’s coats given out to the unsheltered. Approximately 100 food kits and hygiene bags were also given out. The food
kits contained spaghetti and salad, while the hygiene bags had masks, sanitizer, body wash, toothpaste and other supplies.
“It felt good so see happiness in some people,” Ramos’ older sister Alicia Saddler said about the coat and food drive. “One person was in tears when we gave them the stuff. It heals some of the pain when you see the happiness in other people.”
In the early morning hours of Jan. 23, 2017, Jacobsen and his partner Matt Samida arrived near Sacramento and Buckles streets after responding to a 9-1-1 call from a neighbor. The officers located the site of the disturbance at the 1700 block of Sacramento Street.
Jacobsen says he observed a fight taking place on the secondstory balcony. According to a report by the officers, Jacobsen began shouting at the duo fighting to stop, but to no avail. According to reports, that’s when Ramos was seen running onto the balcony and making stabbing motions.
Jacobsen told investigators he “thought the only thing I could do to save this guy’s life was to shoot the man who was trying to stab him.”
An autopsy revealed that Jacobsen shot Ramos from the
first floor and that Ramos was shot at the base of his neck, and three times in the chest. At the time of his death, Ramos had a blood alcohol level of .26 — just over three times the legal limit.
Although Jacobsen claims Ramos had a knife, the family of Ramos, as well as the other person in the fight, have said that Ramos wasn’t armed. A knife at the scene was never found, but Ramos’ DNA was found on knives in the kitchen.
“Today we’re trying to raise awareness for both the life he lived and also how justice hasn’t been served in Angel’s case,” said Ramos’ family attorney Melissa Nold. “The police lied about how he died and we want people to know that. But we also want to talk about the spirit of Angel today and by having this event it lets the people that were close to him and go out and remember him.”
A board of review convened by the Vallejo Police Department cleared Jacobsen of any wrongdoing, 15 months after the shooting. The board determined in April of 2018 that the officer used reasonable force when he shot Ramos. The board also said, however, that Jacobsen should have activated his body-worn camera.
The review board also concluded the officers on scene failed “to fully occupy and control the balcony (resulting) in officers queuing on the stairs, presenting a “fatal funnel” due to the lack of cover” after the shooting.
The family received some good news late in 2021 when the family won a summary judgment motion in the civil case that began nearly three years earlier. Still, Alicia Saddler feels it’s not enough.
“No it doesn’t do much because the City of Vallejo appealed it,” Alicia Saddler said.
Nold said that her law office it in the process of filing a motion where they would deem the appeal frivolous.
“They are just delaying this issue,” Nold said. “It’s so unnecessary and it’s at the taxpayer’s expense.”
A march of around 50 people would eventually head through downtown Vallejo and the Farmers’ Market before returning to the steps of Vallejo City Hall. Chants of “No justice, no peace” could be heard through a megaphone
blocks away from the march.
Prior to the march, Antionette Saddler gave a speech and thanked everyone for coming out, “especially during a pandemic.” She also gave out information to sign a petition to help bring justice to Ramos.
“We’re here to support Angel in all the ways we can,” Antionette Saddler said. “The police have been doing their (alleged) badgebendings and they act like it’s a trophy. My brother was no trophy for the police. We’re here to say ‘there’s no room for you here.’ There is no room for no police at all, but at them in particular, that s%^@ is over the top. And we want folks to know that we need their support and we want the communities support.”
Alicia Saddler said that often she will sit in front of her mom’s house and look at the shrine the family has created for Angel.
“I’ll sit in the front and just look at all the pictures and talk to him in my own way,” Alicia Saddler said. “Angel was such a goofy person and he loved the outdoors, making music and being a handyman by building things. He would want us to be doing something like this for him today.”