Couple claims Vallejo officers dragged unconscious woman from vehicle by hair

VALLEJO – A woman and her husband have filed a claim against the city of Vallejo alleging that Vallejo police officers pulled the woman out of a vehicle by her hair while she was unconscious after a car collision. 

According to the claim for damages, which typically precedes a lawsuit, Daisy Romero and Gonzalo Romero Hernandez were passengers in the backseat of a vehicle when the driver crashed on Curtola Parkway at 2:45 a.m. March 19, 2023. When police arrived, they ordered the Romeros to exit the vehicle without checking to see if they had suffered injuries, the claim states. 

Daisy Romero was unconscious and unable to respond to the officer's commands, according to the claim. Her husband tried to help her out of the car, but the officers interceded and dragged her out by her hair, the claim states. Daisy Romero regained consciousness as the officers pulled her from the vehicle and slammed her body to the ground, according to the claim. 

Gonzalo Romero voiced his opposition to the officers’ treatment of his wife and began recording the incident on his cellphone as he attempted to collect the badge numbers of the officers. But, according to the claim, officers knocked the phone out of Gonzalo Romero’s hands as he backed away, pushed him to the ground, choked him and slammed his face into the concrete. 

The Romeros are claiming damages for false arrest, medical costs for facial lacerations and bodily injuries and the emotional distress they suffered as a result of the violent arrest. 

Vallejo police did not respond to questions from the Vallejo Sun about the incident but the department posted a notice on Facebook last year about an auto accident that took place on March 19 near the intersection of Lemon Street and Curtola Parkway. 

The Facebook post states that officers arrived on the scene after receiving several emergency calls about an accident at the location. The statement said that impact evidence indicated that the driver of a silver Toyota was traveling the wrong way on Curtola Parkway when they lost control of the vehicle, which ran over a tree and crashed into a charging station pole at the Curtola Park-n-Ride. 

According to the Facebook post, the officers believed that the driver and the three passengers in the vehicle were under the influence of alcohol. The post does not describe how the woman exited the vehicle but states that she was belligerent while throwing up outside the vehicle. Then, according to the post, she lunged at an officer, grabbing his gun, and the officer had to remove her hand from the weapon.  

The post also states that a male passenger was arrested for obstruction of justice because he refused to back away from officers as they arrested the woman. The driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. 

The Romeros’ claim for damages was received by the city on Sept. 19.