Vallejo officials are debating firing the officer who killed Sean Monterrosa, an unarmed man at a George Floyd protest, after police chief Shawny Williams recommended the officer's termination.
Monterrosa, 22, was killed on June 2, 2020 in the parking lot of a Walgreens. A petition created for Monterrosa said the 22-year-old was kneeling down with his hands up when Vallejo police shot and killed him.
"Mr. Monterrosa's death was a tragic loss of life, and we understand that the incident has raised many questions in our community, particularly in view of George Floyd's death and the subsequent protests and civil uprisings across the world," the Vallejo Police Department said in a statement.
In a letter obtained by KTVU, police chief Williams recommended the officer's termination, writing that the officer failed to deescalate the situation and had no "tactical strategy" or "coordination with other available units" to be able to respond in the event of a pursuit.
Williams criticized the officer for firing multiple rounds, one of which went through the back of Monterrosa's head. The officer also failed to record the shooting on his body camera, the station said.
"Given your tactical training and experience, you knew or should have known that you needed to carefully assess and plan to handle perceived threats," Williams wrote. "If you believed that anyone in the parking lot was armed, you should have insisted on careful planning, including deescalation. You failed to do so, and in the midst of the confusion and chaos that you helped cause, exercised very poor judgement."
The Vallejo Police Department refused KCBS Radio's request for comment.
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