Officer fired shots from back seat as truck arrived
Police Chief Shawny Williams previously said Monterrosa was on his knees and raising his arms, “revealing what appeared to be the butt of a handgun” when he was shot, but on Wednesday he offered a description that portrayed Monterrosa as an aggressor.
“One of our detectives described what he believed was 22yearold Sean Monterrosa turning towards the officers in a crouching down, halfkneeling position, as if in preparation to shoot,” Williams said in a recorded statement. “At the same time, the detective saw Mr. Monterrosa move his hands toward his waist area, and grab what appeared to be the butt of a handgun.”
That could not be verified by the videos released Wednesday.
When asked why he changed this description, Williams told The Chronicle that he was clarifying the previous “narrative” that was not accurate.
Williams’ revised statement now aligns with the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association’s description of Monterrosa’s body language just before the shooting.
In a statement, the union wrote, “Rather than continuing his escape, Mr. Monterrosa chose to engage the responding officers. Mr. Monterrosa abruptly pivoted back around toward the officers, crouched into a tactical shooting position, and grabbed an object in his waistband that appeared to be the butt of a handgun. At no time did Mr. Monterrosa make any movements consistent with surrendering.”
The body cam footage from the pickup truck driver, which begins without sound because the body camera has an audio delay, shows the barrel of the rifle inside the vehicle and five rounds being fired as the truck comes to a stop. The officers get out of the car and yell orders at Monterrosa, who was killed by a single bullet.
“What did he point at us?” says the officer who opened fire.
“I don’t know, man,” says the officer who was driving.
“Hey, he pointed a gun at us,” says the officer who opened fire.
The officer’s name was not released Wednesday after the city’s police union filed for and received a temporary restraining order.
Williams has previously said the officer believed he saw the butt of a handgun poking out near Monterrosa’s waist and opened fire “due to this perceived threat.”
An investigation later revealed Monterrosa had a 15inch hammer tucked into the pocket of a sweatshirt.
Roughly 100 friends and supporters of the Monterrosa family stood quietly Wednesday afternoon outside Vallejo City Hall, where Michelle and Ashley Monterrosa, the young man’s sisters, exited with their attorneys, John Burris and Melissa Nold. The sisters wiped away tears, and flowers and candles were set up on the steps. People wore shirts that said “Justice for Sean Monterrosa” and held signs that read “defund the police.”
Nold called the video “typical Vallejo PD.”
“We may never know what really happened to Sean,” she said.
Ashley Monterrosa called for justice, saying the footage shows that “now, more than ever, we need to keep our foot on the gas.”
Attorneys at a law firm representing Vallejo police did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.
It wasn’t until the day after Monterrosa’s death that police released his identity and told the public he had died. The incident occurred the same day Vallejo called in 50 troops from the National Guard to help control protests and rioting sparked by the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
Video from after the shooting shows the officer who opened fire shout “stupid” and drop his gun to run back to the truck and grab a medical kit. He then yells “F—!”
The officer who opened fire later says, “This is not what I f—ing needed tonight.”
He tells an officer he thought he saw the butt of a gun.
The other officer consoles him and says, “You’re going to be all right. We’ve been through this before.”
Vallejo police have killed four people in controversial shootings over the last 31⁄2 years.
Last year, six officers fired 55 rounds in the fatal shooting of Willie McCoy, who was killed after he was found unresponsive with a gun in his lap while behind the wheel of a car in a Taco Bell drivethru. In 2018, a Vallejo officer shot and killed Ronell Foster, who was accused of trying to attack the officer with a flashlight.
In January 2017, a Vallejo police officer fatally shot Angel Ramos at the home he shared with his family. Ramos was allegedly hovering over another person and making stabbing motions with a large kitchen knife in his hand when Officer Zachary Jacobsen shot him. No knife was found near Ramos’ body.
The shooting of Monterrosa is under investigation by Vallejo police and the Solano County district attorney’s office. The officer has been placed on administrative leave.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra declined to have the state Department of Justice review the incident. However, days after Monterrosa’s death, Becerra announced his office had entered into a “review and reform agreement” with the city of Vallejo and its Police Department. The review will include an investigation of useofforce procedures, antibias community policing and officer accountability, Becerra said.
Monterrosa grew up in Bernal Heights and attended Aptos Middle School before graduating from Independence High School in San Francisco. His death came three days before he was scheduled to start a carpentry job.