Shawny Williams

  108 posts

Shawny Williams served as the chief of the Vallejo Police Department from late 2019 until Nov. 4, 2022 after he suddenly resigned. Williams, the city's first Black police chief, had a tumultuous tenure which included a public feud with the Vallejo Police Officers Association over low staffing levels within the department and the departure of several senior-level members of his command staff. Williams came to Vallejo from the San Jose Police Department.

  Jul 26, 2023

Vallejo declares police staffing emergency against union objection

Interim police Chief Jason Ta said he has already taken drastic steps to address the staffing shortage....

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  Jun 20, 2023

Vallejo hires former Selma, Calif., chief as new deputy chief

Gomez mysteriously left his police chief position about a year after joining the Selma Police Department....

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  Jun 02, 2023

Three years after Vallejo police killed Sean Monterrosa, his family still awaits updates

The California Department of Justice took up the criminal investigation into Sean Monterrosa’s death two years ago, but Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office has provided no update on the case, including to the Monterrosa family....

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  Feb 15, 2023

Vallejo City Council rejects side letter agreement with police union

Councilmembers Peter Bregenzer, Mina Loera-Diaz, Cristina Arriola, and Charles Palmares all voted against approving the side agreement with the union, despite the council approving a tentative agreement in September 2019 which established a master officer program as an incentive to retain officers....

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  Jan 19, 2023

Former Vallejo police chief to collect $408K in severance

Williams will receive the severance in a lump sum which is equal to 18 months of his salary at $131 per hour....

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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 30, 2022

2022 was year of uncertainty in Vallejo for housing and police reform

Housing and policing issues dominated Vallejo politics in 2022....

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  Dec 21, 2022

Vallejo City Council approves gunshot detection tech, overruling surveillance board

VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council voted to install 80 to 100 gunshot detection...

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  Dec 20, 2022

Common Ground optimistic about Vallejo police oversight model

The Vallejo Sun spoke with several members of Common Ground, a non-partisan group of religious and non-profit organizations in Solano and Napa counties, about their thoughts on the ordinance....

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  Dec 19, 2022

Interim Vallejo police chief seeks city council approval for gunshot detection devices

Atlanta-based Flock Safety is seeking to beta test the devices by pairing them with automated license plate readers (ALPR) already installed in Vallejo....

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  Dec 15, 2022

Vallejo City Council approves police oversight model

The council voted 6-1 to approve an ordinance creating a three-prong oversight approach....

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  Dec 06, 2022

‘Out of control’: Vallejo police Lt. Steve Darden’s reputation for unchecked anger

Darden has faced a string of excessive force complaints as well as internal complaints that allege he’s harassed, berated and bullied colleagues and subordinates....

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