[New post] Family still demands justice for Sean Monterrosa
Thomas Gase posted: "You couldn't blame Michelle Monterrosa for tossing and turning while trying to sleep Thursday night. Michelle thinks about her late brother Sean Monterrosa every single day, but the memories came flooding in more than usual when the calendar hits June " Times-Herald
You couldn't blame Michelle Monterrosa for tossing and turning while trying to sleep Thursday night.
Michelle thinks about her late brother Sean Monterrosa every single day, but the memories came flooding in more than usual when the calendar hits June 2.
Such was the case Friday morning — three years to the day Sean was killed in Vallejo.
"It was really hard to sleep last night," Michelle told the Times-Herald on Friday. "I mean, I think about him all the time, but I woke up a few times in the middle of the night. It's a really heavy day for us all. Our bodies store so much trauma and I think it was just reacting to my body trying to suppress it."
Sean was killed by Vallejo Police Officer Jarrett Tonn during looting and protests in Vallejo soon after the murder of George Floyd. On the night Monterrosa died, Tonn believed he was reaching for a gun in the parking lot of a Walgreens on Redwood Street. Tonn fired five shots from an AK-15 rifle, killing Monterrosa with a shot to the neck and head. It was later determined that Monterrosa had, in fact, a claw hammer in his sweatshirt pocket.
To this day it remains the last shooting by a Vallejo police officer after the city had 19 in the previous 10 years.
"Our family continues to ground ourselves in prayer," Michelle said. "We don't take this lightly that he was the last one shot in Vallejo. There's something bigger than him in this case and that keeps us going. I feel that people were paying attention to the other shootings, but his case seemed to just open up a big can of worms."
The badge-bending scandal
A lot has happened since the night Sean died at the age of 22. Soon after his death, the news site Open Vallejo published a story that alleged that "at least 14" officers took part in a badge-bending ritual to celebrate fatal shootings, even holding barbecues to mark the occasion.
Vallejo has since been the site of a series of protests and vigils calling for the firing of "The Fatal 14."
Vallejo Union president Michael Nichelini has denied the badge-bending allegations. Former Chief of Police Andrew Bidou said his investigation found the claims to be unsubstantiated, but Police Chief Shawny Williams went on to say that people within his department have told him that the bending occurred.
The family and Vallejo
The Monterrosa family has decided to change things up in 2023 and not hold a public ceremony to honor Sean as they have done in previous years. The family has said often that it is difficult to visit Vallejo, and the difficult memories it brings back.
In July the family made a rare appearance at a Vallejo City Council meeting. One of that night's first speakers, Solano Deputy Public Defender Nick Filloy, handed over records concerning the badge-bending scandal, including alleged proof showing the Vallejo Police Department paid to have an officer's badge tip straightened out after it was previously bent.
But of all those speaking on the issue that night, the most powerful words came from Michelle and Ashley Monterrosa, who promised to make Vallejo "national news again" if city staff and the council didn't do their jobs.
"We are demanding that Jarrett Tonn be fired," said Ashley in July. "He violated the privacy policies. Why does he still have his job? We organized to pack the room today to demand he not get his job back. That he is not back in the street killing people. We are doing everything we can to make sure we are the last family to have someone murdered by the Vallejo Police Department. We are also here to urge you for the impacted families a police reform package with an inspector general."
Michelle Monterrosa then spoke.
"We need direct action. You have a pen and paper right there. You can sign things into law," Michelle said in July, often between tears. "My brother could be the last one. And you guys can restore that trust with the community here ... You guys are killing these kids in the city! We are not from Vallejo. But we are extended family of Vallejo now. My brother was over here for what, 30 minutes? To be murdered? And yet all of you guys are silent.
"You have failed the city, you have failed families. But best believe God gave us my sister and I a platform and we're going to use it to make sure no more families join this fight. And to make sure the badge benders are fully prosecuted to the extent of the law ... We encourage you to hear our pleas and not have a poker face.
"It took a lot of courage for us to come from San Francisco and see you guys," Michelle continued. "Like Ashley also said, if this was your child, what would you have done? What tangible changes would you have created in your career? And best believe, at some point in my life, whatever I do in my career, I'm going to shut down that Walgreens! And I'm going to help build an actual community center."
Tonn's firing
In October the Monterrosa finally got one of its wishes when the VPD announced the termination of Tonn. Williams issued Tonn a "Notice of Discipline" after a neutral, independent third-party investigation showed that Tonn "violated several department policies, including, but not exhaustive of use of deadly force which was not objectively reasonable, failure to de-escalate the incident and failure to activate body-worn camera."
That termination came despite officer Marc Fox, testifying in a Skelly hearing, recommending that Tonn's termination be overturned. This came a few months after an investigation conducted by an outside firm found that Tonn violated policy in the shooting of Monterrosa.
The 66-page report released by the OIR group comes with a number of videos as well as the conclusion that "In sum, the fact that (Tonn) misinterpreted the actual threat level presented by Mr. Monterrosa at the time of the use of deadly force was due to the 'plan' he was part of, which was devoid of any efforts of de-escalation and tactically risky. As a result, any movement by Mr. Monterrosa could have been (and apparently was) interpreted as an act of aggression. Moreover, the decision to quickly shoot multiple rounds through the truck's windshield eliminated any ability to detect threat dissipation such as Mr. Monterrosa turning away from the detectives."
The report features Tonn's administrative interview and his comments on the shooting.
"I'll be the first one to critique myself or to say what I could have done better," Tonn said last year. "And even in this case, like things we could have done differently, after the fact, but like knowing what we knew, and given what we were working with and, especially, you know, with the shooting part, like I do think — I do think I acted properly and did what I felt that I had to do."
During that summer of 2022 the Monterrosa family would find an ally in Williams, who Michelle said was doing his job on the case. However, it wouldn't last.
Chief Williams resigns
In December, the case concerning Sean took another hit when Williams resigned as Vallejo police chief. The Monterrosa family, believing progress was finally being made, had previously been working with and supporting Williams.
Williams joined the department in November of 2019 after 27 years with the San Jose Police Department and became Vallejo's first Black Police Chief. However, his tenure in Vallejo involved a public feud with the Vallejo Police Officers Association as well as the accusal of false testimony by Lt. Herman Robinson.
Soon after, then City Manager Mike Malone appointed Deputy Chief Jason Ta to serve as Interim Police Chief — a title he still holds.
"I condone Shawny for doing what he did," Michelle Monterrosa said on Friday. "We were seeing a little progress in our case and then it hurt to have that ripped away from us. Right now, we haven't been in contact with Williams or anyone else with the Vallejo Police Department. We're just watching right now from afar.
"My sister and I sat down with Shawny at the two-year anniversary of Sean's death. We could have been grieving, but he made an effort and said that change needs to happen immediately. Things were moving. But he has to do what he has to do. I heard he was getting death threats and he has to protect his own family."
Racist text messages and OIR report
Last month the California Attorney General's office announced it was opening a civil rights investigation into the Antioch Police Department, weeks after revelations surfaced that dozens of officers, including several under criminal investigation, were sending or receiving racist texts and bragging about using force against residents.
Michelle Monterrosa was not surprised.
"I mean, we already know that the police in the Bay Area aren't very good at hiding things, whether it be badge-bending or text messages," Michelle said. "California has yet to hold any police officer accountable. Who's going to hold them accountable?"
Last month the Vallejo City Council said that it is expected to review an already approved city contract for an independent police department auditor — a position the council authorized in 2021 that has yet to be filled. The presentation provided updates for the department's implementation of reform recommendations.
Those 45 recommendations come from a VPD audit that the OIR Group, an independent policy consultant focused on police practice reform, published in 2019. Vallejo's police department has successfully implemented eight of those recommendations that the California Department of Justice has signed off on, according to VPD's presentation.
The OIR Group, in addition to its reform recommendations, further suggested the implementation of a VPD independent auditor who would make policy recommendations and work with the department to address recurring issues.
"Obviously that meeting was a complete waste of everyone's time," Michelle Monterrosa said with a heavy sigh. "The city council needs to understand that this is not efficient enough. They're not correcting data. I mean, let's be truthful — they have no idea what they're doing. So just say that. Call out the DOJ and say we don't have any idea in what we're doing. Because there is enough evidence to already be inditing people."
Although there were no planned gatherings for Sean Monterrosa as of 1 p.m. on Friday, there is an artwork exhibition being held showing Sean's work at Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore and Gallery on 24th Street in San Francisco. The exhibit will be open until June 12.
In the meantime, Michelle sees a bit of Sean everywhere she looks.
"I'll be looking out for El Camino's today and I've seen a lot of hummingbirds in pairs of fours already today," Michelle said. "I know Sean is watching over us. I see signs of him daily."
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