“More than 150 people gathered for more than two hours to decry Vallejo’s latest fatal officer-involved shooting. In this one, 23-year-old Mario Romero, known as “Papaya” by friends, died before dawn Sunday and his brother-in-law, Joseph Johnson, 21, was shot through his hip and hospitalized.
During the rally, the police department released information to the press linking Romero to a neighborhood gang, but no one from the department addressed the crowd outside. A family member denied any gang affiliation…
Romero and Johnson were shot by the officers around 4:33 a.m. Sunday, while sitting in a Thunderbird parked in front of their home, in the 100 block of Pepper Drive, near Lofas Place. A vehicle matching the same description was reportedly involved in a shooting in recent weeks, Bassett said.
Police say the duo was approached because of recent gang-related activity in the neighborhood. They said officers fired repeatedly at Romero because they believed he had reached for a gun in his waistband. Police released a photo Tuesday of a pellet handgun they said Romero had on him.”
Cops Shooting People 