Vallejo officer fired for role in fatal shootings
Ryan McMahon was terminated after the agency said he violated department policies.
(A still frame from a body camera that recorded the fatal shooting of a Vallejo man by officers in 2019. A police officer involved in the shooting was fired on Thursday.)
A Vallejo Police Department officer who was involved in two controversial shootings over the last few years has been fired, the agency announced in a press release on Thursday.
The dismissal comes after Shawny Williams, the agency's police chief, recommended the termination of Ryan McMahon for his role in the 2018 shooting of a bicyclist and a similar shooting last year involving a man who fell asleep in the drive-thru of a Taco Bell restaurant.
"Any conduct outside the level of professionalism this City deserves will not be tolerated by the Vallejo Police Department," Williams said in a statement. "I understand we have a long way to go in rebuilding trust among the residents of Vallejo, and I will continue to take the necessary steps to better serve this community."
In 2018, McMahon's fatal shooting of a 33-year-old bicyclist drew accusations of excessive use of force. In that case, McMahon chased Ronell Foster on foot, fired a taser at the suspect, then pushed him down a flight of stairs and beat him with a flashlight.
McMahon shot Foster when the man attempted to flee again with the officer's flashlight. Foster's family hired a prominent civil rights attorney, which eventually led to a $5.7 million settlement with the City of Vallejo.
One year later, McMahon was one of five officers who fatally shot rapper Willie McCoy after he fell asleep in the drive-thru of a Taco Bell restaurant.
Police said they believed McCoy was reaching for a weapon when he woke up, but body camera footage shows the shooting took place mere seconds after officers began giving him verbal commands to show his hands.
Foster and the other five officers shot McCoy more than four dozen times. McCoy's family hired the same civil rights attorney for their own lawsuit. That lawsuit is still pending.
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