DA cleared Solano deputy in 2022 killing of Jason Thompson in Vallejo

VALLEJO – A Solano County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a man who approached deputies with a reciprocating saw blade last year will face no criminal charges for the shooting, according to a letter from the Solano County District Attorney’s Office released through a public records request.

The shooting happened on June 19, 2022, after 29-year-old Jason Thompson allegedly fled from a hit-and-run collision in Vallejo. Vallejo police did not have officers available to respond so hours later, Solano County sheriff’s deputies responded, who shot and killed Thompson minutes after arriving.

The district attorney’s office cleared Deputy John Robertson, who killed Thompson, of any criminal charges in a letter dated Sept. 6. The letter had not been publicly released until today, a year to the day after Thompson’s killing.

According to the letter, Vallejo police first received the call of a white Saturn Vue that had crashed on Curtola Parkway and Marin Street at 4:14 p.m. The crashed car was registered to Thompson’s wife.

About an hour later, Vallejo police received a report of another crash nearby after an alleged carjacking. A man, later identified as Thompson, had allegedly jumped into a car while its owner was getting gas. As Thompson drove away, the car’s owner jumped into the car’s window and fought with him, causing him to crash into a light pole, according to the DA’s office. The woman grabbed Thompson’s shirt as he ran from the car, but he escaped.

The woman later encountered Thompson again at the Texaco gas station, where he allegedly confronted her with a knife, according to the DA’s office. She pepper sprayed him twice and Thompson walked away, still holding the knife.

Vallejo police received another report of a man cutting himself with a knife at 6:45 p.m. The caller reported he was walking shirtless and talking to himself incoherently on Pennsylvania Street, holding a saw blade in one hand and a hand saw in the other.

A Vallejo police dispatcher asked the Solano County Sheriff’s Office to respond to the incident as there were no available Vallejo police units, according to the DA’s office. Robertson — along with deputies Eduardo Borrego and Esteban Greenwood — were working overtime shifts at the Solano County Fair and responded to the call.

The deputies pulled over after they saw Thompson. As they got out of their car, Thompson turned and walked toward their patrol cars.

Body camera video released by the sheriff’s office last year shows that Robertson immediately drew his gun as he exited his patrol car and yelled “stop!” repeatedly at Thompson, who continued walking toward him.

With his gun pointed at Thompson, who kept approaching, Robertson said things like “Stop, bud. Just talk to me” and “Stop. I don’t want to shoot you, man,” as Thompson quickened his pace towards the deputy. Borrego Tased Thompson, but he continued moving toward Robertson, who then fired seven shots at Thompson from just feet away.

Thompson collapsed.

“Fuck!” Robertson yelled.

Seconds later, Thompson rose to his knees while bleeding profusely and then collapsed again while moaning.

“Don’t shoot, I got him,” Robertson said with his gun again pointed at Thompson. “Stay down, man. Please, I’m begging you.”

Deputies kept yelling at Thompson to “drop the knife,” but Thompson remained unresponsive to commands and began shaking and moaning and yelling.

After about three minutes, the deputies approached Thompson, handcuffed him and provided medical attention as other deputies arrived.

The DA’s letter notes that Thompson was on parole for voluntary manslaughter after an 11-year prison sentence. Chief Deputy District Attorney Bruce Flynn concluded that “Deputy Robertson’s use of force was objectively reasonable and necessary, based on the totality of circumstances known to him at the time, to protect himself from the imminent threat of death or great bodily injury.”

Two eyewitnesses previously told the Vallejo Sun that they thought the shooting was excessive or “overkill.”

Those witnesses — who spoke to the Sun on the condition of anonymity — said sheriff’s deputies did not try to de-escalate the situation despite Thompson appearing to harm himself with the saw blades before gesturing towards authorities.

James Cook, an attorney with the Oakland-based Law Offices of John Burris, submitted a claim for damages on behalf of Thompson’s family weeks after the shooting, which is typically a precursor to a lawsuit.

Cook told the Vallejo Sun on Monday that the county denied the family’s claim, which he said is standard. “There’s still time to file a lawsuit,” he said. “It’s still early.”

The sheriff’s office has not yet released the results of its internal investigation into the shooting.

Brian Krans contributed to this report.