Solano DA launches fatal incident task force, partners with Vallejo PD
Future fatal officer-involved shootings will now be investigated by the task force.
(Solano County’s District Attorney Krishna Abrams appears in a video published by the agency. Still frame courtesy Solano County District Attorney’s Office via YouTube.)
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office and the Vallejo Police Department have partnered on a new major crimes task force that will investigate fatal officer-involved shootings.
The new task force, which has the support of police chiefs throughout Solano County, was created after several fatal shootings involving officers from Vallejo in recent years.
The Vallejo Police Department on Thursday said it is one of several agencies to partner with the Solano County District Attorney’s Office on the new task force.
“The mission of the task force is to provide independent oversight of criminal investigations into all uses of deadly force by law enforcement in Solano County,” the agency said in a press release. “The District Attorney will have final oversight into each investigation and will determine if there is any criminal culpability. If an incident occurs in an agency’s respective jurisdiction, it will be recused from the investigation.”
The task force will be comprised of at least one full-time detective from law enforcement agencies in Vallejo, Vacaville and Fairfield as well as a full-time investigator from the Solano County Sheriff’s Department. Police departments in Benicia, Dixon and Suisun City will each provide one part-time investigator to the task force.
“With this task force in place, every community member of Solano County can have confidence that these serious investigations will be conducted in a full, fair, independent and impartial manner,” Krishna Abrams, the Solano County District Attorney, said on Thursday.
Agencies that are involved in an officer-involved shooting will turn their investigations over to the task force, which will determine if there was any criminal culpability on behalf of the officer in question.
“Launching independent investigations for officer-involved fatal incidents brings us one step closer to where we need to be as an effective and transparent organization,” Shawny Williams, Vallejo’s chief of police, said in a press release.
This newsletter is an all-volunteer effort. If you would like to show your appreciation, consider making a donation in any amount or converting your email subscription into a paid one. Discuss this newsletter and other stories from across Solano County on our Facebook group here and follow our new Twitter account here.