Good evening
I'm Sergeant Rashad Hollis, the Vallejo Police Department's Public Information
Officer and Community Engagement Sergeant.
Thank you all for attending tonight's town hall meeting.
Tonight's meeting is to discuss the officer-involved shooting that occurred on
Monday, July 20th, 2026 at approximately 1:15 PM on Mahogany Drive here in Vallejo.
The purpose of this meeting is to share the available facts regarding
the incident and provide our community with an opportunity to share their
thoughts, questions, and concerns.
I want to acknowledge the following leaders in attendance today.
Thank you for being here, Assistant City Manager Nalungo, the Chief's
Advisory Board, and Chaplain Mike Brown
The Vallejo Police Department would like to express its gratitude to the
Griffin Academy Middle & High School for generously allowing us to use their
facility for this town hall meeting.
This partnership allows us to hold the meeting near the location of the
incident, making it more accessible to the community members and businesses
that may have been affected.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone, including our community, stakeholders,
and the media for joining us today.
Before we continue, everyone should know that this meeting is being
translated into American Sign Language.
A recording will be posted tomorrow on the City of Vallejo's official website
with closed captions available in multiple languages, including Spanish and Tagalog.
We will listen to the comments and take questions from the
community after our presentation.
Please keep in mind that this incident remains an active
and ongoing investigation.
Tonight's meeting will conclude at 8:00 PM or after the final question
or comment, whichever comes first.
Thank you for participating in this town hall meeting.
I will now turn the meeting over to Chief of Police, Jason Ta.
Thank you, Sergeant Hollis.
I just wanna start, uh, by thanking everyone here tonight, our community
members, families, members of the media, for taking the time to attend this
town hall meeting and for joining us in this critical conversation regarding
the recent officer-involved shooting.
Our commitment this evening, as always, is to continue earning your trust through
absolute openness and transparency.
This is why we're here tonight.
We wanna share what we know at this point in time
While strictly respecting the integrity, as Sergeant Hollis mentioned, of
the ongoing independent criminal investigation being conducted by the
Solano County Task Force, our goal is to pre-present this information to
you in a manner that is fair, that's respectful, and completely clear.
When our officers interact with members of the public, the use of any type
of force must always be reasonable, measured, and legally justifiable.
We understand that officers frequently face difficult,
rapidly evolving situations.
However, their decisions must remain lawful and consistent
with our departmental policies.
We also deeply recognize that any use of force, especially deadly
force, is profoundly traumatic for every involved families, community
members, and officers alike
That is why we treat these events with the utmost seriousness.
Every use of force undergoes multiple layers of review from field supervisors,
command staff, and to our professional standards division If an internal
review indicates a need for change, whether through training, disciplinary
action, or updates to our policies, those steps are decisively taken.
Furthermore, a comprehensive report of these incidents is compiled monthly and
delivered to me as the Chief of Police.
When this specific incident occurred, our department mobilized immediately.
I personally responded along with both deputy chiefs, both captains,
our public information officer, the internal affairs commander, our entire
detective division, our department chaplains, and our professional staff.
Part of my core responsibility in these critical moments is to ensure
that accurate information is quickly shared responsibly with city leadership,
with our regional partners, and most importantly, with you, our community.
To that end, the department issued an initial media release on the
night of the incident detailing the basic facts, the sequence of events
and the status of those injured and the type of weapon we recovered,
which was an assault rifle.
A subsequent update was issued shortly thereafter to provide additional
transparent context, including the names, experience levels, and current division
assignments of the involved officers.
Just as importantly, we made it an immediate priority to establish
a supportive connection with the family of the individual involved.
Chaplain Brown and Chaplain Pace stepped forward to serve as our dedicated
family liaisons, offering immediate support services and ensuring the family
Was offered ex-extended personal in-- I'm sorry.
Was offered immediate support resources and ensuring the family was extended
a personal invitation to meet directly with me within seventy-two hours.
Several days later, I had the opportunity to meet with the
immediate family, and I met with them once more prior to this event.
It's very warm in here.
Excuse me.
When I met with them individually, we previewed the exact same video footage
we're gonna be seeing here tonight.
Tonight, we continue our promise of transparency.
We will first hear the initial 911 audio dispatch from the
armed robbery and carjacking.
You will see relevant video footage captured both from the body-worn camera
and the car camera, and then we will look at specific still frames from
those videos alongside photographic evidence taken from the scene.
I'll now turn it over to Administrative Bureau Captain Jeremy Huff.
Good evening.
I'm Captain Jeremy Huff, and I oversee the Vallejo Police
Department's Administrative Bureau.
I wanna provide some background on tonight's meeting and the context of
our current position as a department.
This is the first fatal officer-involved shooting that our department
has experienced in six years.
Over the last six years, the Vallejo Police Department has undergone
significant changes and improvements in our training, policies, community
engagement, and operational and administrative review systems.
We have prioritized premier training in areas such as crisis intervention
methods; implicit bias, principled policing, cultural diversity, and
procedural justice; use of force, including less lethal options, arrest
and control techniques, firearms, and our state-of-the-art virtual
force simulator; de-escalation tactics, and scenario-based training.
The officers involved in this incident have received the training
that I just described to you.
Beyond training, we've enhanced our practices around accountability,
transparency, and internal reviews.
One important change is our renewed commitment to the community
communication and outreach following officer-involved critical incidents.
To foster trust and build partnerships, we hold town hall meetings like
this one soon after an incident at a facility near the scene.
Tonight, our intent is to provide the highest level of transparency
possible while remaining mindful of the ongoing criminal investigation.
We will be sharing relevant video evidence and factual information available
at this stage of the investigation.
We've also strengthened our family support services practices as a Vallejo Police
Department chaplain now serves as the family liaison, facilitating communication
between the chief of police and the involved family soon after the incident.
That process has been followed in this case, and we have been in contact with the
family members affected by this incident.
Two important processes have also been put into place due
to our police reform efforts.
We have a revised county protocol.
The Solano County officer-involved fatal incident protocol now assigns
the criminal investigation to the Solano County Major Crimes Task Force.
Under this protocol, the district attorney is tasked with conducting an
objective and independent investigation.
The Vallejo Police Department investigators are not involved
in the criminal investigation
The Critical Incident Review Board, or CIRB we have overhauled our
internal review system, and the CIRB now evaluates each critical incident
with the goal of agency improvement, reviewing, planning, and decision-making,
supervision, de-escalation and tactics, training and equipment,
policy issues, and post-event response.
When an officer-involved shooting incident occurs, several parallel investigations
are initiated, which include the Solano County Major Crimes Task Force , who
is currently conducting the criminal investigation under the supervision
of the district attorney's office.
The administrative or internal affairs investigation determines if policies
and procedures were adhered to.
The City of Vallejo has retained an independent investigator from the
Renee Public Law Group to conduct an internal, uh, independent review.
Vallejo Police Department internal affairs investigators are not involved
with the administrative investigation.
The Critical Incident Review Board was convened with a diverse membership,
including department leadership, training staff, professional standards
supervisors, community representation, and subject matter experts.
Phase one of the initial CIRB has already occurred.
As the Vallejo Police Department's policies and procedures continue to
evolve, I want to emphasize our commitment to partnership with the community.
We cannot do our jobs effectively without your confidence and support.
At this time, I will turn the presentation over to Deputy Chief Knight, who will
provide a summary of the incident
Good evening.
My name is Bob Knight, and I am the Deputy Chief of Police.
I will be providing a general overview and timeline of events
as we know them at this time.
This case is still in its early stages and is being conducted by another criminal
investigative agency, as just mentioned.
Therefore, we are only able to share details that are confirmed and
suitable for release at this time.
However, this town hall represents our department's commitment to maximum
transparency surrounding critical events such as an officer-involved shooting.
Our department's role during the initial response was to conduct a
preliminary investigation, secure the scene, identify witnesses, and preserve
immediate evidence to establish a found-foundation for the extensive and
thorough investigation now being led by the Solano County District Attorney's
Major Crime Task Force investigators.
While the video footage we are sharing tonight is a critical component
of this review, it's important to recognize that body-worn and in-car
cameras do not always offer a complete depiction of a critical incident.
The district attorney investigators will utilize officer statements, civilian
witness testimonies, alternative video angles, if available, and forensic
analysis to reconstruct a comprehensive understanding of the events leading
up to and during this encounter.
To ensure absolute objectivity, all involved officer statements
were conduct- were conducted by the district attorney's Major Crimes
Task Force, not our department.
The event des- the events described here tonight represent the facts
as we currently know them based on the in-information available to us.
A final and comprehensive report and formal legal determination
regarding the just-justification of lethal, lethal force will be assessed
and rendered independently by the district attorney at a future date
once their investigation and official documentations are fully finalized
First, I will identify the officers who discharged their
firearms during this incident.
The involved officers were Officer Himanshu Saini, badge five six zero,
who is a four-year member of the department, and Sergeant Matthew
Komoda, badge six six five, who is a twelve-year member of the department.
On Monday, May twentieth, twenty twenty-six, at approximately twelve
nineteen PM, the Vallejo Police Department responded to the four hundred
block of Ryder Street for an armed carjacking that had just occurred.
The victim reported being robbed of personal belongings and his vehicle by
a suspect armed with an assault rifle.
The victim's vehicle was a twenty eleven Honda Accord, and the suspect fled the
scene in the vehicle and was last seen traveling northbound on Sonoma Boulevard.
The victim's vehicle was entered into the stolen vehicle system, and
the vehicle information was placed into Vallejo PD's Flock automated
license plate reader software.
Approximately fifty-six minutes later, officers were alerted by the Flock
Automated License Plate Reader System that the victim's carjacked vehicle
was traveling in North Vallejo.
At approximately one:fifteen PM, Officer Sani was traveling on Broadway Street
near Mahogany Drive when he observed the vehicle traveling on Broadway
Street with two occupants inside.
Officer Sani radioed for backup and followed the Honda as it
turned onto Mahogany Drive, which is a dead-end street.
The driver of the vehicle stopped in the roadway as he neared the dead end.
Officer Sanny activated his overhead emergency lights and
began to exit his patrol car.
The video will show a bystander was standing…
Excuse me.
The video will show a bystander was walking towards the Honda, looked inside,
and immediately started to run away.
Officer Sanny started to give verbal commands to the vehicle's occupants,
at which time the driver produced a high-powered rifle from the vehicle.
Officer Sanny dove into his patrol vehicle, and an
officer-involved shooting occurred.
Sergeant Kamoda arrived on scene as a backup officer while
shots were actively being fired.
Sergeant Kamoda exited his police vehicle and positioned himself on the passenger
side of Officer Sanny's vehicle while the driver was shooting his rifle at
Officer Sanny and his patrol vehicle.
Sergeant Kamoda discharged his firearm at the driver and requested emergency
assistance on the police radio.
After a brief pause in gunfire, the vehicle abruptly drove forward,
colliding with an unoccupied vehicle and a fence, and came to rest.
At this time, Officer Sanny exited his police vehicle and
sought cover behind a nearby car.
After the suspect vehicle came to rest, both Officer Sanny and Sergeant
Komoda again engaged with the armed suspect and discharged their
firearms, firearms at the driver multiple times, fatally wounding him.
Multiple officers arrived on scene, and the passenger of the
vehicle surrendered to officers and was safely taken into custody.
The passenger of the vehicle is… His identity is not being,
uh, disclosed at this time.
Officers were not able to immediately render aid to the driver as the scene
was unsecured and the Honda was wedged between an unoccupied car and a fence,
significantly limiting access to him.
After several minutes, the suspect was removed from the vehicle and officers
began first aid until EMS arrived.
However, paramedics pronounced him deceased at the scene.
The driver is identified as forty-four-year-old Vallejo
resident Romel Corral.
The firearm used by Corral was a two-two-three caliber AR fifteen-style
rifle with a high capacity magazine.
It was located at the scene and booked into evidence.
Romel Corral has an extensive criminal history with prior prison
time and was currently on CDCR parole at the time of this incident.
He's been convicted of the following crimes: two separate felony convictions
for burglary, two separate felony convictions for possession of a controlled
substance, one felony conviction for vandalism, one misdemeanor conviction
for illegal possession of a firearm, three felony convictions for felon
in possession of a firearm, most recently a case being in May of twenty
twenty-six this year, uh, by Vallejo PD.
In twenty eleven, Corral was arrested and charged with murder for a case
that occurred in the city of Vallejo.
He was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter with the use of a
firearm and sentenced to prison
This incident demonstrates the rapidly evolving nature of police encounters.
Officers are often asked to make split-second decisions while performing
multiple tasks and potentially responding to an immediate threat
to protect themselves and the public
Before we play the footage of this incident, we want to
provide a content warning.
The videos you are about to see contain graphic and violent images,
including gunfire and scenes that may be distur-disturbing for some viewers.
We recognize that everyone processes traumatic events differently.
If you would prefer not to view this segment of the presentation, we will pause
briefly to allow you to exit the room.
After the videos have concluded, we will provide time for those who
may have stepped out to return to their seats before we continue with
the remainder of the presentation
We appreciate your understanding and respect everyone's personal decision
regarding whether to view the footage
So this will be your time if you'd like to step out and don't wanna view the footage,
um, now would be the time to do so
Okay, veldig godt You're about to watch and listen to a series of
audio and video files depicting the events that I just described.
These include a 911 call, as well as videos from police car cameras
and officer body-worn cameras.
The sharing of this information is not intended to provide any
evidence that a conclusion has been reached in this investigation.
Please note, body-worn camera and in-car cameras are generally affixed in a
direction that captures the camera's line of sight, but not at an angle
or view that depicts what an officer actually observed or experienced.
Vallejo Police Department Axon cameras are all equipped with a buffer
feature that shows video footage up to thirty seconds before the
camera is activated, with no audio.
Action-- Axon dash cameras are automatically activated when the police
car's emergency lights are activated.
The body-worn camera can be activated manually by depressing the button on the
camera or automatically when the police vehicle's dash camera is activated.
All audio and video files have been redacted pursuant to Penal Code
eight thirty-two point seven B six.
Also, pursuant to California Assembly Bill seven forty-eight, the raw videos
depicting this shooting will be released on our website tomorrow, along with a
recording of this town hall meeting.
You may notice brief periods of silence throughout the video.
Portions of the audio have been redacted in accordance with the
applicable l-legal and privacy requirements that I just described.
These redactions do not affect the continuity or sequence of events depicted.
We will now begin the video presentation
911, what's the outer city emergency?
Okay, how can I help you?
I just got robbed in the park.
Okay, what exactly happened?
Uh, this guy just came and he pulled an assault rifle on me,
and he said, "Empty out everything in your pocket," and… Okay.
What's the company name?
And was he Black, white, Hispanic, or Asian?
Uh, he looked like Black, but kind of mixed.
He was a shorter dude.
Like light-skinned Black male?
Yeah.
Okay.
W- About how old did he look?
Probably late 30s.
Okay.
Do you remember what he was wearing?
What, what color shirt, what color pants?
Uh, he had like some blue shorts I think.
I don't really remember the shirt, man.
He had like a blue bag with him.
He just sped off with my car, my wallet, everything.
Oh, okay.
How long ago was this?
Literally 30 seconds.
Oh, okay.
Do you know which way he drove off?
Uh, he went left down Sonoma going towards, like, the animal shelter.
Okay.
What kind of vehicle?
It was a gray Honda Accord, 2011, kind of beat up
Does it have body damage or just older?
It does have body damage.
Okay.
On the right side, it's kinda warped.
Do you know your plate number?
Um, I think
Okay.
And are you injured at all?
No.
All right.
Let me get him stranded to you, okay?
Okay.
Hold on.
Yeah, he asked me for a lighter at first.
I said, "I don't got it," and then he just kept walking.
Then all of a sudden he came back, tapped on the glass, and he pulled out a huge
gun out of his bag, like an assault rifle, and he's like, "Get the fuck out of the
car right now. Leave everything in your car, everything out of your pocket."
And I was just like, I just fucking, I took, threw all the shit and left.
Okay.
So I've got everybody on the way there right now.
Is there anything else about him you can remember?
I'm sorry, what'd you say?
Uh, they're all driving to you right now, and they're, some of them are
gonna go search the area for your car.
Is there anything else about him you remember?
Um, do you guys have, like, the camera footage of him walking
by, or… I think he had, like- Okay … almost braided hair kind of.
But- Maybe like, like- He had a, he had a little bag … dreads
or just the little knots on top?
Was it, like, dreads or the, like, little knots on top?
They were, like, two kinda big dreads on the back of his head, I
think, or… Honestly, I ba- I, I barely even really looked at him.
Okay.
I just think he was a shorter dude.
We got him on camera.
Okay.
And where are you at?
Oh, I'm inside the office right now.
Okay.
And what is your name?
Okay.
That was a good plate for your vehicle, too.
Okay.
They're all driving to you right now.
If you can just keep an eye out for him, okay?
Sure.
Thanks.
Um, you're welcome.
Bye.
Hey, watch your fucking-
Shots fired.
I copy shots fired.
We're staging medical
Copy
Visual units here
不 需 要。 你 的 有 两 个 需 要
Anthony, I have a shield in my car.
I need an ambulance to grab that shield
Grab the shield from Sam T's car
Hey,
put your foot- I'm on fire.
Show fire, show fire
I do have a shield in my car.
Hey, stop moving.
I'm coming to your side
You okay?
Yeah, I'm good.
I'm good
Taking
over here.
Send to the route.
There we go.
So I'm occupied by two accident at Oakwood.
We're completely stopped.
It looks like it's a HMA, so we are currently blocking other vehicles.
Do you want with him?
Shots fired
Visual units here
Next unit needs to grab the shield
Sam two, I have a shield in my car.
I need the next unit to grab that shield.
I'm coming to your side
Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm good.
I'm good
You're not hit?
No, I'm good, I'm good
In a mahogany.
He is in credit overnight.
Keep doing route.
Talk to my boat too.
I haven't lit it up, but for a couple of stops, and we'll take it to H Bay.
So we are currently hawking other vehicles
I copy shots fired.
We're staging medical
My car.
I need an next unit at Grab n Shield Next unit, Grab n Shield for Sam Key's car
Leave the lights off?
Leave them on?
Can you guys see these photographs okay, or should we turn the lights back off?
Just leave them off for now.
The video showed how the incident unfolded in real time.
We will now review several photographs taken during and after the incident to
highlight important details and provide additional context that may not have
been readily visible during the videos.
This is an aerial image of the scene.
Although it was not taken during the incident, it provides an
overview of the location and helps illustrate where the events occurred
This is, uh, depicting Officer Sanni's vehicle, Sergeant Comoda's vehicle, the
carjacked Honda Accord, and these yellow, um, arrows are photographs of vehicles
that you will see with, um, bullet hole damage in the-- in some future photographs
This is a close-up photograph of the firearm Rommel Carol
used during the shooting.
The firearm is considered a ghost gun under California law because it
does not bear a valid serial number, making it more difficult to trace.
Carol's rifle was equipped with a high capacity magazine that still
contained twenty-one live rounds
In this slide, if you look at the above the driver's side front door,
you can see a bright flash of light.
This is known as a muzzle flash, which is the visible flash sometimes
produced when a firearm is discharged.
This image captured one of the moments Carol fired his
rifle towards Officer Sanni
This is a magnified still image showing Correll fire the
rifle towards Officer Sanny.
It is just a magnified photo of the, the previous slide
This photograph was taken several hours after the shooting
during hours of darkness.
It shows the final rest-resting position of the stolen Honda
Accord after it collided with a fence and an unoccupied SUV
Here's the unoccupied vehicle, here's the fence
This photograph shows bullet strikes to the driver's… Oh, sorry.
Go back.
This is, uh, the next slide here.
This photograph shows Officer Sandy's patrol vehicle with its emergency lights
still activated following the shooting.
You, you can also see the green evidence placards which identify the location of
Officer Sandy's spent cartridge casings
This photograph shows a bullet strike to the driver's side window
of Officer Sanni's patrol vehicle
This is a close-up image of that same bullet strike to the driver's side window
This is another view of the front of Officer Sandy's patrol vehicle with
the emergency lights still activated.
This close-up photograph shows both outbound and inbound
Bullet strikes to Officer Sanny's patrol vehicle.
This picture shows damage caused by rounds fired by Officer Sanny
as well as rounds fired by Carroll
Back one here
There's a bullet strike here that may not be harder to see and bullet strike here
This photograph shows a bullet strike to the roof of Officer Sanny's patrol vehicle
The impact is visible on the driver's side beneath the white paint of the roof
This image shows the locations of recovered cartridge casings.
The green evidence placards identify Officer Sanny's spent casings,
while the yellow evidence placards identify Corroll's spent casings
This image shows a zoomed-in photograph of the placard, the placards
identifying Carroll's spent casings
This slide shows multiple civilian vehicles that were struck by rounds
fired by Carol during the shooting
And then there'll be a series of photographs here in a moment that
will show those in more detail.
This is a close-up photograph of a Lexus that was parked behind
Officer Sanny during the incident.
A round fired by Carol struck the vehicle's windshield
This is a close-up of a Ford pickup truck that was also parked behind Officer Sanny.
The windshield was struck by a round fired by Carroll
This is a close-up photograph of a Nissan parked adjacent to
Officer Sanni's patrol vehicle.
Multiple rounds fired by Corroll struck the rear of the vehicle
I will now turn the presentation back over to Sergeant Hollis for the community
engagement portion and closing remarks
We will now transition to the community engagement portion of this town hall.
Before we begin, I would like to share the engagement ground rules.
These guidelines are designed to create a safe and respectful space where everyone
can express themselves and ask questions.
That reflect our community's values of fairness, dignity, and responsibility.
Please be courteous to everyone here.
Listen to others with respect.
We understand that this is an emotional topic, but tonight's
focus is on the specific critical incident, not broader issues.
Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Anyone who engages in personal attacks will be asked to leave the cafeteria
If you would like to speak, please raise your hand and the floor
moderator will bring you a microphone.
To ensure everyone has the opportunity parti- to participate, each speaker will
have up to three minutes to ask all their questions or share comments and concerns.
This town hall is being recorded.
To ensure the recording accurately captures your questions and comments,
please use the microphone when speaking.
When you have finished speaking, please return the microphone
to the floor moderator.
We will then respond to your questions and acknowledge your comments and concerns.
Keep in mind that only a short time has passed since this incident.
We are sharing the maximum information available at this stage.
Due to multiple ongoing investigations, we cannot provide details beyond
what has already been presented.
As a department, we emphasize that preservation of life is
at the core of our mission.
A lethal encounter is never the desired outcome when law enforcement comes
into contact with members of the public
Thank you for your understanding.
For future inquiries or top- or topics not related to this incident,
you can contact me by email at valleiopdpio@cityofvallejo.net, N-E-T.
We will now start the listening session.
Who has the first question?
If we have no questions, this concludes today's town hall meeting
Thank you