Vallejo police award ‘life-saving’ medal to officer who allegedly threatened ex-girlfriend’s life

VALLEJO – A Vallejo police officer who was arrested in February for allegedly threatening his ex-girlfriend’s life was awarded a “life saving medal” by the Vallejo Police Department this week, the department announced in a social media post.

The award was one of several awards and promotions announced by the department on Saturday. An awards ceremony was held at the USA World Classics Event Center in Vallejo on Wednesday, department officials said.

Officer Ronald Dupree was one of three recipients of a life-saving medal, according to the department. Dupree was arrested by Oakland police on Feb. 14 on suspicion of felony domestic violence, threats and stalking, but was released from jail without charges on Feb. 15. 

An application for a restraining order filed in Alameda County Superior Court includes screenshots of text messages allegedly from Dupree threatening the woman. One message said, “If you ever get a restraining order against me I will have your nurse license stripped nationwide.” 

“You should’ve died a long time ago,” another said. 

The court records indicate that Dupree called the woman from blocked numbers 30-70 times per day. The woman was granted the restraining order, and Dupree was ordered to surrender his weapons, according to court records.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has not charged Dupree nor said whether it has made a decision in the case. Vallejo police did not immediately respond to questions about Dupree’s current status in the department, or whether he attended the awards ceremony.

Dupree wasn’t the only officer who faced controversy over the last year who received an award this week. Officer Colin Eaton, one of six officers who killed Willie McCoy in 2019, was awarded a medal of merit, according to the department.

Eaton was filmed by a bystander punching a driver after a pursuit and crash in October in a video that went viral on TikTok. Days later, when state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a new stipulated judgment for Vallejo police reform, Bonta acknowledged he had seen the video and said it was “disturbing” and would be investigated.

Eaton has a history of force complaints. Months after he killed McCoy, Eaton was one of two officers who arrested McCoy’s niece Deyana Jenkins. A lawsuit alleges that Eaton and Officer Jordan Patzer – another officer who killed McCoy – held Jenkins at gunpoint, dragged her out of the car, threw her on the ground and Tased her. 

Eaton was also suspended for stepping on a man’s head during an arrest on April 19, 2020.

Vallejo police have frequently given promotions and awards to officers facing allegations of excessive force or civil rights complaints. Most notoriously, the department named then-Detective Mat Mustard the department’s “Officer of the Year” after he falsely accused a couple of faking a kidnapping in 2015. The case was recently the subject of the Netflix documentary “American Nightmare.”

The promotions announced this week also included the promotion of Lt. Sanjay Ramrakha to captain. A former police lieutenant testified in 2022 that he had bent Ramrakha’s badge following a shooting, a practice of marking shootings that became a scandal for the department after a former police captain revealed it publicly in 2020.