The Metropolis of Vallejo launched data on Tuesday night time exhibiting that Vallejo Police officer Colin Eaton was beforehand suspended 80 hours for extreme power regarding an indecent publicity name on April 19, 2020.
The investigations grew to become topic to public disclosure beneath the revisions to Penal Code Part 832.7(b) that went into impact this 12 months. The regulation is No. SB1421. The Vallejo Solar first obtained the data and reported on the story.
Within the investigation on Eaton, Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams writes to Eaton that he, “be suspended with out pay for a interval of eighty hours from (his) place of Police Officer. The really useful suspension was primarily based upon findings from the above-referenced Inner Affairs investigation (“IA Investigation”) that your inserting your foot on a suspect’s head for practically a minute and three half after he had been restrained constituted an unreasonable use of power and was outdoors the scope of coaching.”
Williams goes on to say that Eaton is being disciplined as a result of he advised the suspect, “I'll (expletive) you up. Sit down. I'll (expletive) you up.” Williams goes on to say that Eaton had his foot on the suspect’s head for nearly a minute and a half and are recorded on body-worn digital camera. Eaton has been with the VPD since 2017.
Eaton’s suspension in 2020 got here only a 12 months after he was one of many six officers that fired at the least 51 pictures into the car containing Willie McCoy on Feb. 9, 2019. McCoy was asleep on the wheel outdoors of a then Taco Bell drive-through on Admiral Callaghan Lane. Preliminary reviews by VPD that night time stated a gun was within the passenger seat of the car, however the household of McCoy claims they haven’t seen a gun in any of the seven digital camera angles they have been proven. McCoy’s cousin, David Harrison, stated final week in a vigil “I’ll give $1,000 to anybody who finds a gun within the video.”
In an interview as a part of the investigation for the pre-disciplinary process on Eaton, a Skelly convention was held on Could 12, 2021. The Metropolis of Vallejo retained an out of doors guide, Marc Fox, to function Skelly Officer.
In that interview, Eaton admitted that his actions “displayed poor judgment” and that he “didn't think about different strategies to manage the suspect’s head, similar to inserting a knee on the suspect’s shoulder.” Eaton recounted there had been bodily fluid on the suspect’s face/head. The decision for service had described the suspect as “pulling his pants down and exposing himself.”
Eaton additionally stated that he believed the suspect was “about to enter battle or flight,” however acknowledged he didn’t see the person had balled his fists or had taken a combating stance, so he “felt like he was extra apt to run versus battle.”
Fox summarized the interview with Eaton by writing “Having concurred with the proposed Discover of Intent to Self-discipline that Officer Eaton has violated every of the insurance policies, I struggled a bit to search out the suitable really useful disciplinary motion. My battle was that the proposed self-discipline could also be inadequate. I used to be capable of resolve this inside dialogue with myself within the recognition that my function because the Skelly Officer is to establish if the proposed disciplinary motion is suitable and I'm counting on the chief of police’s judgment that the outer restrict for the incident resulting in this proposed self-discipline is an 80-hour suspension.”
After reviewing the contents of the IA Investigation, contemplating Eaton’s statements, and viewing the physique. worn digital camera footage, VPD decided that the officers conduct as detailed within the IA Investigation violated departmental insurance policies, particularly, inserting a foot on the suspect’s head for practically a minute and a half after he had been restrained violated Vallejo Police Division Coverage 300.5 “Use of Power.”
On Wednesday, the VPD despatched out a information launch regarding the investigations:
“We perceive the importance of releasing these data in our continued efforts to strengthen our relationship with our residents. It's our honest hope that by offering this info, we're constructing belief and credibility with our neighborhood,” the discharge states.
“I made a promise to carry our division to the next commonplace and all the time think about what's in the very best curiosity of our neighborhood and division,” Williams stated within the assertion. “We're taking optimistic steps to redefine Vallejo PD. Constructing belief with our neighborhood requires accountability, professionalism, and fostering an atmosphere by which everyone seems to be handled with dignity and respect. I'll proceed to take all vital and acceptable motion to make sure that our officers conduct themselves in a fashion in line with these values and with our obligations to the neighborhood we have now sworn to guard and serve.”