Crippling staff shortage at North Bay police department could be addressed by state bill
VALLEJO, Calif. (KRON) — A crippling patrol staffing shortage at the Vallejo Police Department is being addressed at the state level. If a bill approved by the Senate this week passes through the legislature, it could bring the department much-needed relief.
But not everyone is on board.
Vallejo PD is severely understaffed, and the city council has declared a local emergency. Napa-based State Sen. Bill Dodd’s (D-CA) office paints a bleak picture. The department is authorized to have 132 officers but is currently down to just 31, tasked with patrolling the entire city.
That’s why Sen. Dodd wrote a bill that would allow qualified retired Solano County Sheriff’s deputies to return to that department and work full-time to help patrol the city of 123,000 people.
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The bill passed the senate Tuesday and will next head to the assembly. In a statement, Dodd said in part:
“Allowing them to temporarily work more hours while recruitment ramps up for permanent officers can save taxpayers money while deterring crime and improving responsiveness.”
“It just depends, right? Who are the officers that they’re bringing?” countered human rights attorney Melissa Nold. “I supported the state of emergency to allow more officers to come in and we were encouraged these officers were not from Vallejo.”
For the next three years Senate Bill 1379 would allow retired officers to skirt current state law and exceed the 960-hour annual cap on work hours for retired cops.
Like many community members, a spokesperson for Dodd’s office says the senator is concerned about the police department and allegations of abuse and corruption but stresses the officers that would be brought on will come from the sheriff’s office, not the police department.
Nold has filed past and currently pending civil rights lawsuits against the agency and is skeptical about this bill.
“We need police, right? If somebody kicks your grandmother’s door, you want somebody to come and respond,” said Nold. “But if that guy left because every time, you know, somebody sneezes, he shoots somebody — we don’t want him going to grandma’s house either.”
Earlier this year, Nold represented Willie McCoy’s family in a $5 million civil rights settlement with the City of Vallejo. McCoy was gunned down by Vallejo police in 2019.
“I don’t have anything against police. I have something against corrupt police,” said McCoy’s cousin David Harrison.
Harrison fears it is possible the retired officers who may join the department could fall in line with those accused of falling short of police standards.
“If you allow those rotten apples to fester in a barrel of apples, there’s not going to be too long before the whole barrel is a whole bunch of rotten apples,” he said.
The city’s mayor, chamber of commerce, Solano County Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff’s Association support the bill. If it passes through the assembly, it will end up on the governor’s desk. Sen. Dodd’s office says could likely be signed by September.
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