California attorney general forges new police reform agreement with city of Vallejo

VALLEJO, Calif. (CN) — The California Attorney General’s Office has reached an agreement with Vallejo and its police department over reforms to law enforcement in response to claims that the police exhibited a pattern of unconstitutional conduct.

The agreement, announced Thursday, follows a 2020 memorandum of understanding between the city, police and Attorney General Rob Bonta that expired in June. While Vallejo police had reached “substantial compliance” with 20 out of 45 recommendations, it still failed to properly enforce the law.

The state Department of Justice determined those failures were due in part to faulty policies, practices and procedures, and that police must address citizen complaints; bias in policing; and issues with stops, searches, seizures and arrests.

“Repairing trust between our law enforcement and the communities they serve is a foundational part of public safety and rebuilding that trust takes swift, decisive action,” Bonta said in a statement.

“The reforms laid out in the agreement are needed and necessary to continue healing the relationship between law enforcement and the community, and they are needed now. It’s past time the people of Vallejo have a police department that listens and guarantees that their civil rights are protected.”

The 2020 memorandum of understanding came days after a police officer shot and killed 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa.

A civil suit filed by Monterrosa’s family against Vallejo and Officer Jarrett Tonn is still pending. Bonta said in December that there was insufficient evidence to charge Tonn with a crime.

After the June expiration of the original agreement, the city, police and attorney general reached another accord in October. It was never signed by a judge, making it unenforceable. That led to this week’s settlement, which took the place of the unsigned stipulated judgment.  

"The parties have continued working together on our reform efforts since the expiration of the original memorandum of understanding and are committed to continuing to work together to implement all of the agreed-upon reforms," Vallejo police said in a statement to Courthouse News.

The settlement agreement calls for Vallejo police to achieve all incomplete recommendations and adds several new ones, like holding officers and supervisors accountable for not properly investigating and addressing use-of-force issues.

Police also must tap the chief’s advisory board and police oversight commission to create and change policies that affect the community, like its use of force, bias and civilian complaint policies.

Concerning stops, searches, seizures and arrests, police must create a policy that defines and restricts when pretextual stops are used — those in which police stop a motorist to investigate something unrelated to a traffic violation.

Police also must strengthen and change the training for investigatory stops. Factors like race, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation can’t be used for reasonable suspicion or probable cause, unless used for credible descriptions of a suspect.

Officers must not perform consent searches during a consensual encounter unless police have reasonable suspicion someone has contraband. Stops, searches and seizures must be lawful and not contribute to community tension.

Vallejo police also must commit to bias-free services, enforcing the law in a professional, fair and equitable manner. Supervisors and managers must have training that leads to proper oversight, accountability and the assurance community feedback is incorporated when necessary.

Police will work with an independent evaluator and the justice department to make a policy for responding to someone in a mental health crisis or who has a mental health disability.

An audit of times an officer points or brandishes a firearm in public must be kept, too, to ensure police aren’t drawing a weapon based only on potential risk.

Additionally, police must promote and build upon community partnerships. This includes working with the community toward problem-solving and bias-free policing and improving transparency and confidence.  

“My office is committed to protecting the rights of the people of Vallejo by overseeing and enforcing the agreement, and working collaboratively with (police) and the city and ensuring a fair, thorough and transparent process,” Bonta said.

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