Vallejo police dashcam footage shows police officers approaching Alexander Schumann after shooting him. The officers’ identities are concealed, in violation of the public records law.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The First Amendment Coalition has sued the City of Vallejo for withholding and improperly redacting public records about a police shooting. As part of its statewide police transparency initiative, FAC represents the Vallejo Sun, a small, independent news publication that reports on local news throughout Solano County.
In August 2025, Vallejo Police Department (VPD) officers responded to 911 calls about a mentally distressed man, Alexander Schumann, breaking car windows and saying he wanted to be shot. When police pulled up, they found Schumann sitting in the passenger side of an SUV. He quickly exited the car, turned towards police and aimed what appeared to be a gun at police. As he turned away and raised his hands while holding the object, officers shot Schumann in the hip, back, and foot. The weapon Schumann was holding was later found to be a pellet gun. He survived the shooting and is facing criminal charges.
VPD has a long, controversial history, including transparency problems, excessive uses of force, and police shootings. From 2010-2020, its officers killed 19 individuals, the second highest number of deaths among the 100 largest police forces nationwide. Last year, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement agreement with the City of Vallejo that calls for extensive reforms within the police department.
“The city of Vallejo has been improperly redacting records of police shootings for years,” said Scott Morris, editor of the Vallejo Sun. “It is long past time for the city to comply with the law in its disclosures of these materials, and we will fight to make sure that happens.”
Seeking information about the most recent shooting, the Vallejo Sun filed a request under the California Public Records Act seeking release of all videos of the incident. The city denied the request, even withholding video it had screened at a public safety meeting following the incident. After the Sun’s editor pushed back, the city released only the footage that was shown at the meeting, but with officers’ faces improperly blurred.
“Nothing is more important to open government than full and prompt disclosure of videos showing police shootings,” said David Loy, Legal Director of the First Amendment Coalition. “Regardless of the outcome of any investigation or prosecution, the people have a right to decide for themselves whether they believe the use of deadly force was appropriate.”
FAC’s lawsuit argues that Vallejo is violating a landmark police transparency law that went into effect in 2019 and helped pierce California’s veil of secrecy over law enforcement by requiring disclosure of recordings relating to any discharge of a firearm at a person by a peace officer or any use of force by a peace officer that results in great bodily injury.
The case, Vallejo Sun LLC v. City of Vallejo, was filed in Superior Court, County of Solano.