Steve Darden

  20 posts

Steve Darden is a lieutenant in the Vallejo Police Department.

  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....

Read More

  Dec 14, 2022

Vallejo mayor requests investigation into city’s destruction of police records

In an interview with the Sun on Wednesday, McConnell said the amount of destruction “is not yet fully and truthfully known.”...

Read More

  Dec 07, 2022

Vallejo City Council brushes off calls to delay police oversight

VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council held a special workshop Tuesday to dissect a...

Read More

  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....

Read More

  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....

Read More

  Oct 31, 2022

Vallejo police officer failed to report crash during pursuit in 2017

Officer Jodi Brown did not stop to assess the other driver and did not report the crash to the police department for 47 minutes....

Read More

  Jul 13, 2022

Records show Vallejo police paid for repaired or replacement badges for officers in shootings

Officers may have obtained refurbished or replacement badges to obscure a tradition of bending the tips of their badges to mark on-duty shootings....

Read More

  Jun 09, 2022

Fired Vallejo deputy police chief called reasons for termination ‘false,’ ‘unfounded’

Fired Deputy Police Chief Michael Kihmm a wrote a letter requesting that a notice of termination written by Chief Shawny Williams be removed from his personnel file....

Read More

  May 24, 2022

Vallejo settles lawsuit alleging officers beat man during illegal entry for $120K

Rodolfo Lopez alleged that he suffered a concussion, a mild traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder after being punched and hit with a baton by police officers....

Read More

  May 12, 2022

The Vallejo police war on rap music

Policing and protests have helped shape the rich music scene in Vallejo. But rap musicians are frequent targets of police....

Read More

  Apr 26, 2022

Vallejo police lieutenant named in badge-bending testimony now VP of union

Lt. Sanjay Ramrakha is currently heading the department’s efforts to reform its use of force policy....

Read More

  Mar 31, 2022

Vallejo police assign lieutenants to newly created service areas

Under the new initiative, the city is divided into north, south, west, and east areas....

Read More