Vallejo police sued for shooting that wounded suspect after pursuit in November

VALLEJO – The city of Vallejo was sued last week for a police shooting in November when an officer pursued two armed robbery suspects and shot one in the arm as he was running away while allegedly holding a gun. 

Vallejo police have released few details about the Nov. 20 shooting, arguing that they are legally prohibited from disclosing information about it because the suspect was 17 years old at the time. But body camera video played in court and viewed by the Vallejo Sun showed Vallejo police Corporal Matthew Komoda shot the suspect while his back was to Komoda.

The suspect, identified as Bryson Jones in the lawsuit, is represented by the Oakland law firm Burris Nisenbaum Curry & Lacy. The suit accuses Vallejo police and Komoda of excessive force and violations of Jones’ due process rights, among other allegations. Jones “posed no threat to the officers. Nor were the officers in danger. However, a city police officer intentionally shot [Jones],” the lawsuit states.

According to the suit, Jones was charged with attempted armed robbery, assault with a weapon, and assault on an officer after the shooting. Because juvenile court records are sealed under California law, no further information is available about the court proceedings.

Jones was allegedly one of two people who robbed two brothers outside of Seafood City on Sonoma Boulevard and fled in a white Lexus. 

Komoda joined in the pursuit and overtook two other pursuing police vehicles at nearly 100 mph to become the lead police vehicle in the chase. The Lexus ran a red light and crashed into two other vehicles. The occupants fled on foot. 

Komoda got out of the car and chased them. “Get your hands up! Get your fucking hands up!” Komoda can be heard yelling on his body camera while approaching the car. “He’s got a gun,” Komoda yelled three times before firing twice, hitting Jones in the arm. 

The second suspect in the case, 18-year-old Zion Israel Smith, was charged as an accessory to the robbery.

Body camera and surveillance video that was played during Smith’s preliminary hearing in December showed that Komoda shot while Jones’ back was to him. Smith was ordered released from jail after the hearing, but his charges are still pending.

The shooting is Komoda’s fourth as a Vallejo police officer following shootings in 2016, 2017 and 2018, far more than most other police officers. Komoda testified in March 2022 that former Vallejo police Lt. Kent Tribble bent his and his partner’s badges following the 2016 shooting, a practice of Vallejo police officers marking their shootings that became a major scandal for the agency after it was revealed publicly in 2020.

Last year there was an increase in use of force by officers, according to department data, including the first shooting by a Vallejo police officer in three years, and a commensurate increase in liability claims.