Monday, December 13, 2010

Solano County

2010-12-12 "Vallejo police shoot, kill suspect in apparent act of self defense" by Lesha Ruffin from "Bay City News" and "News10/KXTV"
[http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=111700]
VALLEJO, CA - A suspect was shot and killed by Vallejo police on Saturday afternoon when he apparently threatened officers responding to calls for help, police said.
Officers were called to the area of Sonoma Boulevard and Kentucky Street in west Vallejo around 3 p.m. on reports of a man brandishing a gun, police said. A witness provided police with a description of the involved suspect and firearm, police said. He was seen fleeing into a nearby alley as they arrived at the scene, police said.
The suspect - a 34-year-old Vallejo man - was holding the gun when police began engaging him in the alley, police said. The suspect was shot by an officer at least once after the officer apparently had to act in self defense, police said.
The suspect was taken by air ambulance to a regional trauma center, but was later pronounced dead, police said. The man's name is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, but police said he did have a criminal history outside of California. Police recovered the suspect's firearm at the scene, police said. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing by the Vallejo Police Department and the Solano County District Attorney's Office. An acquaintance of the suspect, Joseph Sanders, told News10 the man was a good person and a student at Napa Valley College.
Sanders said his friend was at the scene videotaping footage for a college video, when he was shot by police.

2010-12-16 "Candlelight vigil held for man shot by police" from "Vallejo Times-Herald" newspaper
[http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_16872704?source=most_viewed]
Friends and family members of Guy Jarreau, 34, of Vallejo held a candlelight Wednesday night to remember the man killed by police in a downtown alley. Police shot Jarreau at about 3 p.m. Saturday, later saying that officers were responding to a report of a man brandishing a gun at a number of teenagers in the 2100 block of Sonoma Boulevard. Wednesday night, candles, letters, photographs, flower bouquets and prayer cards filled a small portion of the alley where the shooting occurred. Police say the officer fired in self-defense, fearing for his and the teenagers' safety. The shooting is under investigation. But Jarreau's friends at the vigil said the police account of the incident is wrong and that questions remain about what really happened. They said Jarreau was working in a friendly manner with the teens and filming an anti-violence video at the time.
The victim's mother flew from New Orleans following her son's death and spoke at the vigil, friend Steward Bunton said. "She wants the truth to come out," Bunton said. "I knew him. He was a good dude. He was very heart-felt and had no enemies. I knew him for a few years and I never saw him with a gun," Bunton added.
Another friend, Jimmy Brooks, said the group intends to hold regular vigils and other events to demand justice, and draw attention to police conduct in Jarreau's death. Neighborhood resident Linda Tarplin said she attended the vigil because she knew some of the teens who were running from the scene and who were hand-cuffed on the ground following the shooting. "It was a positive event they were trying to do here," she said.
Jarreau was a New Orleans native, and moved to Vallejo after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Several friends at the vigil had worked with him at Wal-Mart. He had attended Napa Valley College for the past three years and was pursuing an Associate degree in Psychology. "It's sad the guy we knew got killed this way," Brooks said.

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