Interim Vallejo police Chief Jason Ta named permanent chief

VALLEJO – Interim Vallejo police Chief Jason Ta has been named the city’s permanent police chief after a lengthy search, the city announced on Tuesday.

Ta has been the city’s interim police chief for two years, since former Chief Shawny Williams suddenly resigned in 2022. Williams, the department’s first Black police chief, was hired from San Jose with a mandate to course correct after years of scandals. The department soon entered a reform program with the state Department of Justice. But Williams often clashed with the Vallejo Police Officers Association, who claimed he was driving officers away from the agency.

Ta also worked for the San Jose Police Department for 27 years, where he was a captain when he was hired by Williams as deputy chief in 2021. 

Ta’s appointment comes after a fraught process for public participation in selection of the new chief, which drew criticism for lack of Black representation on the panel. To remedy the concerns, City Manager Andrew Murray invited a new community panel of members chosen to equally represent racial and ethnic groups in Vallejo to participate in the selection process that took place in late October for the three finalists: Ta, former San Francisco Deputy Police Chief Mikail Ali and Fresno Deputy Police Chief Mark Salizar.

“The City was fortunate to have a pool of strong candidates,” Murray said in a statement. “Jason distinguished himself by receiving the top rating from all four interview panels as well as having a track record of improving community relationships and advancing the collaborative reform effort.”

Department staffing levels had been plummeting when Ta was appointed chief, and continued declining until the City Council declared a state of emergency months later. In a statement Tuesday, Murray credited Ta with stabilizing the staffing levels, which are high enough that the department plans to assign an officer to traffic enforcement in the new year. But the City Council declined to lift the emergency declaration in December as the city is still seeking support from the Solano County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol.

Ta has also been credited with course correcting on reform efforts under the state Department of Justice. At the time of Williams’ departure, the department had completed only three of 45 reforms. But when the Department of Justice filed a new court action to compel reforms months later, Attorney General Rob Bonta said the department was in substantial compliance with 20 reforms.

But Ta’s term has also seen a dramatic rise in use of force by officers and civil rights liability claims as well as the first shooting by an officer in three years, which would have been forbidden under a policy which took effect days later. Most recently, the city faced a new liability claim from a family who said they were terrorized by a sergeant searching for her golden handcuffs, who was then promoted to lieutenant.

"I am honored to be selected to lead the department into the future,” Ta said in a statement. “My commitment to the community, city, and department remains steadfast as we continue our journey in elevating the Vallejo Police Department in becoming the ‘Gold Standard’ of public safety. We have come a long way and still have much road ahead."