Jan 31, 2024

What happened to Mat Mustard, the lead Vallejo detective in ‘American Nightmare’?

‘How do I make it so you look like a monster?’ Detective Mat Mustard asks the boyfriend of a kidnapping victim in the Netflix docuseries. Mustard, who was never disciplined for his role in accusing the couple of a hoax, continued to have other controversies....

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  Jan 09, 2024

Vallejo settles lawsuit over 2019 police killing of Willie McCoy for $5M

The settlement is one of the largest in the city’s history....

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  Sep 14, 2023

Former Vallejo police captain who exposed badge bending ritual settles lawsuit for $900K

Former Vallejo police Capt. John Whitney said he hopes the settlement “is the beginning of some of the major changes that I have always advocated for in Vallejo.”...

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  Mar 09, 2023

Former Vallejo police union president lowered promotion standards to make sergeant, whistleblower captain testifies

Vallejo police Sgt. Mat Mustard pushed for a “a very watered down” version of the sergeant’s exam, former Capt. John Whitney testified....

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  Mar 01, 2023

Vallejo police ignored evidence of lieutenant’s timecard fraud, testimony alleges

A former police captain alleged that Lt. Michael Nichelini may have committed time card fraud worth tens of thousands of dollars in the spring and summer of 2018....

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  Feb 28, 2023

Former Vallejo police chief ignored badge bending for years, testimony alleges

Former Capt. John Whitney said the chief knew officers bent their badges after shootings as early as 2014....

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  Jan 17, 2023

Vallejo officer fired after two fatal shootings had history of subpar police work, records show

Ryan McMahon — who shot and killed Ronell Foster in February 2018 and was one of six officers who shot and killed Willie McCoy a year later — was flagged for poor performance in connection with seven different incidents in 2018 alone....

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  Dec 01, 2022

Vallejo says it ‘inadvertently’ destroyed records in five police shooting investigations

The records were destroyed in early 2021 before their destruction was allowed under city policy....

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  Nov 04, 2022

Former Sacramento police chief hired as consultant for Vallejo PD

Hahn will receive up to $100,000 to advise Malone “on critical changes in the field of law enforcement and public safety.” Malone signed the contract Tuesday, three days before Williams resigned as chief....

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  Aug 24, 2022

Vallejo City Council shows early support for forming strong police commission

The council said it wanted to see more of a model presented by Common Ground, a non-partisan group of religious and non-profit organizations....

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  Aug 18, 2022

9th Circuit rules Vallejo cops can ask for driver’s licenses at DUI checkpoints

A Vermont man has lost his legal challenge alleging his 4th Amendment rights were violated by a Vallejo police officer when he was asked to produce his driver’s license at a drunk driving checkpoint held in September 2014....

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  Aug 08, 2022

Federal judge rejects push to dismiss excessive force lawsuit against Vallejo police

A federal judge dealt the city of Vallejo a blow last week by ruling that a civil lawsuit, accusing two Vallejo police officers of using excessive force during a 2018 traffic stop, could continue....

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