Vallejo releases some evidence of police shootings previously thought to be destroyed

Vallejo police have released new evidence related to the police killings of Mario Romero and Mohammed Naas more than a decade ago, including videos the city had previously classified as vandalized, in response to a public records lawsuit filed by Open Vallejo .

The recently recovered audiovisual recordings represent just a fraction of the case files that Vallejo illegally deleted in 2021 at the request of the Det. Sergeant. Mathew Mustard with permission from Assistant District Attorney Katelyn Knight. A 2023 investigation by Open Vallejo found that Vallejo had destroyed widespread evidence in police shootings of six people, including Romero and Naas, based largely on documents and statements made as part of the newsroom’s lawsuit against the city were obtained for public records purposes.

In May 2023, Solano County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gizzi ruled that the destruction of evidence violated state law. Gizzi ordered the city to submit all outstanding records by the end of November of that year; that hasn’t happened yet.

All of the shootings in which evidence was destroyed involved at least one officer linked to the department’s “Badge of Honor” scandal, uncovered by Open Vallejo in 2020, which involved officers every time they were on duty killing, bending the tips of their badges.

Records released Wednesday include six videos and eight photos from the agency’s investigation into the shooting death of 23-year-old Romero. Vallejo police officers Sean Kenney and Dustin Joseph shot the young father 30 times on Sept. 2, 2012, as he sat in his parked car near his family’s home in Vallejo. Romero did not have a firearm, although Kenney claimed he found a pellet gun near the floor behind the driver’s seat after the shooting.

The new, long-lost evidence includes recordings of Vallejo police detectives Mustard and Todd Tribble interviewing Kenney and Joseph the morning of Romero’s shooting; Statements on camera from neighbors who heard or saw the early morning shooting; and a video clip and photos from a forensic examination of Romero’s white Ford Thunderbird, whose windshield was riddled with dozens of bullet holes.

In 2022, a former Vallejo official testified that Tribble was involved in the first badge-twisting clique revealed by Open Vallejo.

Wednesday’s release also included footage of Mustard’s interview with Lt. Stephen Darden on June 8, 2013, after Darden fatally shot 57-year-old Mohammed Naas.

Evidence documents for Case 12-11085, the murder of Romero, show that evidence marked “FR-7: Neighborhood Canvas Video DVD” was destroyed on January 11, 2021. Also destroyed were items marked “CD OF 620 INTERVIEW” and “CD of 585 INTERVIEW,” which refers to the badge numbers of the shooting officers. Kenney and Joseph allegedly took part in the badge-bending ritual after killing Romero.

The evidence list for case 13-6659 also marks an item called “MM8-DVD LABELED DARDEN” as destroyed. In 2020, Open Vallejo called Darden a participant in the badge-bending clique, which he has repeatedly denied.

Vallejo police and the Vallejo City Attorney’s Office have yet to explain how the evidence released Wednesday resurfaced. Although Vallejo city spokeswoman Sharon Lund sent Open Vallejo’s request for comment to City Manager Andrew Murray, City Attorney Veronica Nebb and Vallejo Police Chief Jason Ta, no one had responded as of this article’s publication.

When asked during a May 2022 deposition in Open Vallejo’s lawsuit whether Vallejo retained a backup copy of the audiovisual recordings after deleting files, Joni Brown, then public records coordinator for the Vallejo Police Department, gave a clear answer.

“No,” she testified.