CA AG's Office Slow to Investigate Police-Involved Shootings
Five of 49 investigated cases completed since 2021 law (AB 1506) was passed
TW: Police-involved shooting
A total of 49 unarmed people across California were shot by law enforcement officers in the last two years, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta is charged with investigating whether those killings were justified. Passed in 2021, AB 1506 mandated the California Department of Justice investigate all incidents of an officer-involved shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state and review for potential criminal liability all such incidents.
The unit that investigates police shootings of unarmed people had ruled on just five of its 49 cases by December 2023 as the families of people who were killed started to give up hope that the Justice Department would ever get them a resolution. While the law mandates that police must release video within 45 days of a fatal shooting, there are loopholes for unlimited 30-day extensions pending investigations. The Justice Department conceded that it had not even logged every call from a police agency reporting the shooting of an unarmed person.
The most recently closed case of these police-involved shooting investigations by the Attorney General's office involved a Vallejo police officer who shot and killed Sean Monterrosa in June of 2020. Vallejo Police Officer Jarrett Tonn shot and killed Monterrosa from the back seat of an unmarked police vehicle through the windshield. At the time, police said Monterrosa had been running towards a car but suddenly stopped and took a kneeling position. As he raised his hands, he revealed something in his sweatshirt pocket, which turned out to be a hammer.
The AG's Office took over the case in May of 2021 after Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams recused herself. Earlier in December, Bonta announced there would be no criminal charges filed due to "insufficient evidence." The AG's Office also found that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges for the destruction of evidence in this case, the vehicle's damaged windshield which was discarded.
"It is extremely disappointing that they decided not to move forward with criminal charges. We believe that there is more than sufficient evidence not only in our civil case that runs along parallel lines but enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Jarrett Tonn. We're looking forward to a review at the federal level," said Lee Merritt, attorney for the Monterrosa family.
Of the five cases Bonta's investigators closed, all sided with law enforcement.
Criminal justice reformers are pointing to the length of time and end results as proof that a law giving Bonta the mandate to investigate these deadly shootings is a pointless, bureaucratic exercise. They continue to advocate for an independent body at the state level, which does not exist, to investigate these types of police shootings. "It's not going to be a perfect system by any means," said John Vasquez, policy manager for Oakland-based Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice. "But we believe it will be a more meaningful and more productive system to hold officers accountable."
You can review the list of the investigations of police-involved shootings mandated under AB 1506, and the AG's report of the investigation into the police-involved shooting death of Sean Monterrosa.
