Vallejo police officer crashes into vehicle while en route to sideshow

VALLEJO — A man whose car was struck by a Vallejo police car on Friday night says that the Vallejo police officer had run a red light without sirens and, despite that he passed a sobriety test, officers searched his car for contraband.

The officer collided into the man’s Acura as it was crossing the intersection of Curtola Parkway and Alameda Street at around 11 p.m. Friday. 

According to dispatch audio, the officer was en route to a sideshow that was occurring on the other side of town. A police incident report identifies the driver as Officer Sarah Phipps. Police did not respond to requests for more information.

In an interview, the driver, who requested to remain anonymous, said that he and his friend were driving on Curtola while coming back from the movie theater at Gateway Plaza and respecting all traffic laws, when he crossed Alameda on a green light and the police car hit him.

“Mid-intersection, literally that’s when I seen the cop car coming, and boom, she hit me,” he said.

He said that he did not hear sirens and only saw lights from the police car after he began crossing the intersection.

According to state law, officers responding to an emergency can break traffic laws but must use sirens when “reasonably necessary" and have a "duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway."

The police car hit the right rear of the Acura, caving the wheel underneath the vehicle. The police SUV’s airbags deployed. 

“I felt the collision, the whole car spun out,” the driver said. “The car stopped, I took a moment to process what was going on. I hopped out and looked at the damage. I already knew it was totaled at that point.” 

A total of seven officers responded to the scene within minutes, according to police records. 

In a video taken by the passenger of the Acura and shared with the Sun, the damage to the vehicle is visible. “Ain’t no way we just got hit by the police,” the passenger said in the video. Immediately after, a police officer is seen approaching and asks if they are OK.

The driver said that after they were cleared by medical personnel, police officers tried to make them culpable for the accident, asking if they were high or had been drinking.

“They were damn near trying to find something to blame it on me,” said the driver. “They did the whole drug test, make sure I wasn’t on alcohol or any drug.”

The driver and passenger were given a field sobriety test, which they passed. Police then searched their vehicle and found marijuana, the driver said. The officers threatened to take them both to jail for possession of marijuana.

“Then they searched me, put me in cuffs and put me in the back of the car,” said the driver. “At that point they should have read me my Miranda rights, and they didn’t do that.”

The driver of the Acura said that he was then forcibly kept in the back of the car for 30 to 40 minutes without being told whether he was arrested or even detained. Meanwhile, his passenger, who was on crutches because of a previous injury, had to wait outside. 

The driver was then let go with a date for a court appearance for misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and transporting, but no moving violations, according to a copy of the ticket reviewed by the Vallejo Sun. 

The Acura and the police SUV were towed from the scene. The driver of the Acura said he doesn’t even know where his car was taken.

The incident was the second crash involving a Vallejo police car in three days. On Sept. 2, another police officer collided with the driver of a 2022 Nissan at the intersection of Tennessee and Broadway streets at approximately 5:25 p.m., causing injuries.