On January 25, the Vallejo Sun published “Vallejo officer fired for Willie McCoy shooting had history of complaints before joining Vallejo police,” a story that details former Vallejo police officer Ryan McMahon’s history of misconduct complaints at other police departments before joining the Vallejo Police Department in 2017. McMahon is currently in arbitration to get his job back after he was fired for endangering another officer during a shooting that killed 20-year-old Willie McCoy, a Black man who was asleep in his car in a Taco Bell drive-through when police opened fire.
When seeking comment for the story, the Vallejo Sun contacted McMahon’s attorney, Lenore Albert, who refused to comment and warned Morris not to publish the story, saying: “Do not do a story on it, or else I will see you in court with an ex parte application to prohibit you from using it.” Albert filed an “ex parte application” to prevent the paper from publishing the story.
The same day the story was published, FAC filed this friend-of-the-court brief, writing that Albert’s attempt to censor the Vallejo Sun “would unquestionably violate the First Amendment.”