In a recent video that was posted on Facebook, a 17 year old boy, Jared Huey was killed after being cornered by Vallejo police outside a residence. It was believed that he had allegedly robbed a convenience store after which he crashed his car. The video shows police officers approaching a fence, while shouting. Soon after this, they opened fire of 15 rounds. The victim Jared Huey is not seen in the video.
This incident totals to three out of four shootings in the last 6 weeks by the Vallejo police, which has resulted in numerous killings. According to police reports, out of the four suspects, two were armed with guns including Huey, while the other two were holding a BB gun and metal wallet respectively.
The fatal shooting has resulted in questions being asked about whether armed suspects are to be blamed for the killings or overtly aggressive officers, who require more training. Questions of whether it is simply a statistical blip have also been asked. Just as the City of Vallejo came out of bankruptcy, there was an increase of 10% in violent crime. The number of police officers employed has been reduced from 158 to 93 in 2005. Officer James Capoot was killed after being shot at while he was chasing an alleged bank robber in November.
Experts, watchdogs and police officials are of the opinion that the increase in police killings in Vallejo is alarming. Police officers from San Francisco and Oakland have killed one person each this year while two people have been killed in the last three years by Vallejo police officers. Experts say that these cases need additional investigation to determine if there were any shared traits and also if the shootings were justified.
Christopher Morales is an experienced San Francisco Criminal Lawyer. To arrange for a consultation with a Murder Defense Lawyer In San Francisco, contact us.
