Vallejo Police reveal details of Aug. 29 police shooting

VALLEJO – A man who was shot and wounded by Vallejo police officers two weeks ago had jumped out of a car and pointed what appeared to be a gun at officers, but turned away from the officers moments before he was shot, video of the encounter released Thursday shows.

Police played the video during a meeting Thursday evening at Bethel High School to discuss the shooting. The man was identified as 24-year-old Alexander Schumann and police said that the gun he pointed turned out to be a BB gun. Schumann was charged last week with vandalism, battery on a spouse, brandishing a replica firearm, and resisting arrest.

Police had responded to several 911 calls placed on Aug. 29 for a young male who was first seen car surfing, and later vandalizing a gray SUV, according to 911 audio.

Several individuals at the end of the session, including Schumann’s father James Schumann, asked questions and expressed doubt whether police were properly briefed that Schumann could have been armed, in mental duress, and actively wanted “the police to shoot him,” according to a 911 call placed by someone who knew him. 

Police spokesperson Sgt. Rashad Hollis responded that dispatcher’s notes indicated that he wanted to be shot. 

The elder Schumann, when asked for comment by the Sun, said “they would notify he had a mental illness and breakdown, and they obliged to help and try to kill him.”

Officers Himanshu Saini and Daniel Saravia were the first to arrive on scene, at approximately 6:23 p.m. Their dash camera shows them rapidly approaching the suspect and stopping a few yards away, attempting to conduct what police spokesperson Sgt. Rashad Hollis called a felony stop.

The video shows Schumann, wearing a white track suit and black ski mask, sitting in the passenger side of the SUV he was vandalizing. As the police approach, the officers can be heard saying “he has his hands in his pockets” and then, “let me see your hands!” Schumann jumps out of the vehicle and runs towards them pointing what looks like a gun. 

Within the span of 3 seconds, Schumann jumps out of the car, points his BB gun at the police, raises his hands and turns away. 

Immediately after Schumann raised his hands and started to turn, the officers, who had already drawn their weapons, fired seven rounds. Saini shot five times while Saravia shot twice. 

Schumann drops to the ground and starts convulsing while police keep yelling at him to drop the gun and keep his hands up. Six police officers rush over to him, and the video cuts.

Schumann suffered upper and lower body injuries that were immediately treated, police said, and was air-lifted to a hospital. Schumann survived the shooting and is scheduled to appear in court today. 

Several other important details were revealed in the meeting. Four 911 calls, the dispatch audio, and the body cam footage from officers Saini and Saravia were all shared with the public. 

The first 911 call came in at approximately 5:15 p.m. for a man matching Schumann’s description riding on top of a grey SUV’s hood on the 2000 block of Ascot Park Road, with its driver shaking him off using erratic driving maneuvers. 

“There were no patrol officers available to respond to this call at that time,” Deputy Chief Robert Knight said.

At 6:02 p.m., another call was placed by another person for a man, matching the same description, breaking the windows of a gray Hyundai SUV in front of one of the apartment buildings at Blue Rock Village.

Officers were dispatched at 6:05 p.m. Three minutes later, another call was placed identifying the suspect as Alexander Schumann. 

“I need to, uh, report,” said the caller, “there’s a crazy person vandalizing.”

“Oh and he also wants the police to shoot him,” the caller said.

As if to clarify, two minutes later, the operator asked “and he made a comment that he wanted the police to shoot him?”

“Yep” the caller said, who sounded like she was holding back her tears. 

The dispatcher then asked if he was armed. “Not that I can see,” said the caller, “but he’s got a bag.” 

In the last 911 call, the caller said, “Oh he’s shooting! He’s shooting a gun outside!”

Hollis confirmed that the last call was placed before officers arrived. 

Body cam footage from the two involved officers show that they did not seem aware whether Schumann was potentially armed. Saini, who was riding passenger, still had his phone in his hand when Schumann pointed his replica at them. 

“Officers attempted to gather additional information by contacting a witness via telephone, as well as checking whether Schumann had any firearms registered to him,” Knight said. “Based upon what we know at this stage of the investigation, we do not believe the officers had any information that the subject was armed with a firearm.” 

Citing an ongoing investigation, not all of the available evidence has been shared. The conversations that occurred between officers, who staged prior to entering in contact with Schumann, was not released. What was shared Thursday has already been  made public, but the release of all available information will likely have to wait. 

The event marks the third police shooting in the past five years, none which have resulted in fatalities. Police Chief Jason Ta, in an interview with the Sun, credited the decrease in police shootings in the past five years thanks to a training focus on de-escalation tactics.

“We take our time, we try and plan things out the best we can, but some things were unexpected, as you see,” Ta said. 

But in the case of his son, James Schumann questioned whether these tactics were used. “What attempt of de-escalation was there?” he asked. 

“There were multiple attempts at de-escalation,” Hollis told him. “The officers, one, used time, distance and communicated with each other. They staged on-scene and they contacted each other just to make sure that we have enough officers there, in case, uh…” Hollis said, before James Schumann concluded that that was all he had to say and walked out of the room.