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Jarrett Tonn, a veteran Vallejo police officer identified by multiple law enforcement sources as the officer who shot and killed Sean Monterrosa earlier this month, was recently named in a federal excessive force lawsuit, court records show.

Filed June 17, the first amended complaint alleges Tonn, corporal Jerome Bautista, and officer Kevin Barreto forcibly detained Jose Villalobos in a case of mistaken identity during a Nov. 4, 2018 incident.

The lawsuit alleges that Villalobos, who traveled to St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church with his family for religious services, was stopped by the officers as he opened the door to the churchs bathroom. The officers, not in uniform, snatched Villalobos arm and twisted it behind his back, the lawsuit alleges.

Villalobos, who is blind in one eye, said he cried out that he didnt have any money, thinking he was the victim of a robbery. The lawsuit alleges he was struck in the face and then wrestled to the floor.

The city previously said members of the Vallejo Police Departments Crime Reduction Team were conducting an uncover investigation in connection with a sexual predator who had been soliciting minors at the church.

They also denied the officers mistook Villalobos for another person, and they also denied he was hit in the cheek, according to Vallejos April response to the lawsuit which was filed in December 2019. The initial lawsuit didnt list the officers names.

Also in April, a federal judge denied the city of Vallejos attempt to squash the lawsuit when he ruled that he couldnt infer during the early stages of the lawsuit that Villalobos resisted arrest and the force applied by the officers was reasonable as claimed by the city.

At this stage, the court must make all inferences in favor of plaintiff, U.S. District Judge William Shubb wrote in his four-page ruling on April 1. Because officers continued to exert that force after plaintiff allegedly saw uninformed men, cried that he had no money, and informed the officers of his injured shoulder, the allegations in the complaint plausibly allege the officers intended to exert that unreasonable force or at least acted with a reckless disregard for plaintiffs fourth amendment right to be free from excessive force.

The complaint therefore plausibly states a claim under the Tom Bane Act and the court will not dismiss this claim, Shubb wrote.

Vallejo police have not confirmed that Tonn is the officer who shot Monterrosa, of San Francisco, outside a Vallejo Walgreens during the early morning hours of June 2. Tonn, along with several witness officers, were placed on administrative leave follwoing the shooting.

The officer mistook a hammer near Monterrosas waist for a gun, and fearing for his safety, fired five shots through his patrol cars windshield, striking and killing Monterrosa.

Last week, the Vallejo Police Officers Association filed a temporary restraining order in Solano Superior Court to prevent the city from releasing the name of any officer involved in the fatal shooting.

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Vallejo cop who shot and killed Sean Monterrosa is named in excessive force case alleging mistaken identity - The Mercury News