VALLEJO — Family members of a man fatally shot by an off-duty Richmond police officer plan to file claims against the cities of Richmond and Vallejo, a prominent civil rights attorney said Sunday.
According to video released last month by the city of Vallejo, Eric “Cheddaman” Reason and Richmond police Sgt. Virgil Thomas were arguing over a parking space Nov. 10, 2019, outside JJ’s Fish and Chicken, near Fairgrounds and Sereno drives, when Reason pulled a gun on the 27-year veteran officer before running away as the officer drew his own weapon and fired several shots, killing him.
In a statement Sunday, John Burris, representing the family of Eric Reason, said the released videos did not align with a description of the incident in a city press release after the shooting.
“Disturbingly, several months after a formal complaint was filed by the family, the Vallejo Police Department has yet to provide an explanation for their misconduct related to the crime scene,” Burris said in part. “This [s]ergeant must be charged with manslaughter at minimum for killing a man who posed no imminent threat.”
Vallejo police said in a statement last November that Thomas was legally defending himself.
After announcing the plan to file claims, Burris said a rally would follow on behalf of Willie McCoy, 20, who was shot dead by five officers after falling asleep in the drive-through lane of a former Taco Bell restaurant around 10:30 p.m. Feb. 9, 2019.
Vallejo police officers Ryan McMahon, Collin Eaton, Bryan Glick, Jordon Patzer, Anthony Romero-Cano and Mark Thompson responded to the restaurant in the 900 block of Admiral Callaghan Drive and found McCoy, who had a gun in his lap that police later said had been reported stolen out of Oregon.
The department confirmed McCoy’s name Feb. 14 after a fingerprint analysis, but family members had confirmed his identity almost immediately after the incident. In a video with audio of the shooting, police can be heard yelling commands to McCoy and firing at him less than three seconds later. More than twenty shots are audible.
Outcry over the shooting led to sustained protests across social media and statements from civil-rights organizations.
Burris also represents the family of Ronell Foster, a bicyclist fatally shot during a traffic stop by Vallejo police officer McMahon Feb. 13, 2018. Abrams declined to charge the officer, who was placed on paid administrative leave, according to a public records act request by a Vallejo Times-Herald reporter. Last week, Vallejo’s police union issued a statement suggesting Foster’s conduct was a factor in the shooting.
Staff writers John Glidden and Nate Gartrell contributed to this report. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
