VALLEJO, Calif. (KRON) — “This is just an old fashioned way of trying to shut us up to go back to before George Floyd — that’s not going to happen.”
A lawsuit filed against the City of Vallejo has the city’s attorney now seeking a change in venue and a gag order in the Sean Monterrosa case.
Monterrosa was shot and killed by a Vallejo police officer in June.
The shooting sparked several protests and a demand for justice.
What’s unusual about this request is the city hasn’t even been served the complaint. It was just filed on Thursday.
The City of Vallejo plans to request a change in venue for the federal civil rights lawsuit filed against them by the family of Sean Monterrosa.
Monterrosa was shot and killed by an 18 year veteran police officer in a Vallejo Walgreens parking lot in June.
Police say they thought Monterrosa had a gun, but it was a hammer in his pocket.
Body cam footage released by Vallejo police shows the officer shooting through the windshield of an unmarked police cruiser — killing Monterrosa.
The Monterrosa family’s attorney says the officer is Jarrett Tonn, who they say has been involved in four shootings in five years.
The lawsuit was filed on Thursday.
The city hasn’t even been served yet, but released this statement today that said:
“The city will seek a fair trial with an uncompromised jury, and that may not be possible in the Bay Area or the Sacramento area, given the extensive negative media coverage on this case. After the city is served with the official complaint, we intend to seek a change of venue outside of the Bay Area (and Sacramento). The jury pool in the local and surrounding areas has been debased by inflammatory and sensationalized media statements given by the plaintiff’s attorneys in this case. We intend to seek a protective order preventing these attorneys or any affiliated parties from speaking to the media about the case. this will ensure fairness and allow the judicial process to play out in a non-partisan fashion, as it was designed.”
“You want to kill the messenger because you don’t like the message? The message is very clear about what happened here and it seems to me we have a right to say that that’s a public interest,” Civil rights attorney John Burris said.
Burris — the family attorney — says they have a right to speak out and they don’t think the request made by the city will go anywhere.
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