Vallejo officials prevail in court over public emergency declaration
A judge said the police union didn't meet its burden of proof to warrant a restraining order.
The Vallejo Police Department’s headquarters are seen in an image captured by Google’ Street View. (Photo: Google)
A state judge gave city officials in Vallejo a small victory on Wednesday after refusing to block the city council’s public safety emergency proclamation.
The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association, the union that represents law enforcement in the city.
In court documents reviewed by Solano News Update, the union argued the City of Vallejo’s public safety emergency proclamation enacted earlier this month was not lawful because it did not respond to an immediate crisis.
Instead, the union argued, city officials justified the proclamation by citing negative community sentiment toward law enforcement in the wake of a Minneapolis police officer’s actions that led to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, earlier this summer.
On Tuesday, city officials countered that argument, saying the proclamation was needed to respond to an increase in violent crime throughout Vallejo in recent months coupled with more than three dozen federal lawsuits and tort claims that alleged misconduct by police officers. The proclamation had the support of Shawny Williams, Vallejo’s chief of police, when it was handed down.
In a press release sent by the city manager’s office, a public information officer said the police union was “obstructing” the city’s attempt to carry out duties as allowed under the emergency proclamation, including the formation of a task force that is intended to examine police practices and procedures.
The proclamation does not give the city any abilities to carry out tasks outside of the town’s bargaining agreement with the union, which represents around 80 sworn officers.
The union filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order that would have prevented the city from going forward with various tasks following the emergency proclamation. A state judge denied the restraining order on Wednesday, saying the union had failed to meet its burden of proof that the proclamation was unlawful.
Late Wednesday evening, a statement issued by the city manager’s office said Vallejo officials were “disappointed” that the union chose a court fight over other possible actions.
“We hope, in the future, [the union] will continue to work with us rather than take this obstructionist approach,” Greg Nyhoff, Vallejo’s city manager, said in a statement emailed to reporters. “Our number one priority here is to serve our community and provide them with a police department that they can take pride in and trust.”
The union had not put out a statement on the matter as of Wednesday evening.
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