California Police Accused of 'Badge of Honor' Ritual Celebrating Officer's Kills

A Californian police force is accused of having a secret sect of officers who engage in rituals such as holding barbecues and bending their badges after they are involved in a fatal shooting.

According to a lengthy investigation by Open Vallejo, a so-called "Badge of Honor" was awarded to officers in the Vallejo Police Department each time they killed someone in the line of duty.

The report claims at least 14 Vallejo police officers who have been involved in fatal shootings since 2000 have had the points of their badges bent by a fellow colleague, although the figure may be higher.

The investigation says officers Sean Kenney, Joe McCarthy and Steve Darden accounted for almost one third of Vallejo's 30 fatal police shootings over the past two decades.

Darden denied the accusations of badge bending against him.

"My badge has never been bent. That's a lie," he told Open Vallejo.

The practice is alleged to come to light in 2019 after John Whitney, a former Vallejo police captain, began investigating the misconduct claims following the shooting of Willie McCoy in a Taco Bell drive-through.

McCoy was shot by several Vallejo police officers in February 2019, after passing out in the drive-thru of the fast food chain with a gun on his lap.

Whitney claims he was fired from the department after bringing his concerns about a "variety of misconduct issues" to several top officials, Mayor Bob Sampayan, City Manager Greg Nyhoff and then-City Attorney Claudia Quintana.

Whitney filed a retaliation claim in February which went unanswered by the city for 45 days and therefore considered rejected.

Whitney is now free to file a lawsuit against the department. His lawyer, Alison Berry Wilkinson, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Whitney intends to file a suit which will include the allegations of badge bending.

"The community we serve will lose faith in us," Whitney told Open Vallejo. "This practice needs to end."

Assistant City Manager Anne Cardwell told The Chronicle that the city is aware of Whitney's claims and investigated them last year and she is "not aware of any current complaints related to badge bendings."

"In conferring this evening with the City Manager, he noted that the Mayor had advised him last year regarding rumors of such a prior practice in years past at the Police Department and that he, the City Manager, then immediately consulted with former Police Chief [Andrew] Bidou, who indicated it had been previously investigated and such claims had not been substantiated.

"The City takes any claims or credible information regarding potential misconduct seriously and we will follow up with the appropriate investigatory measures, as well as take appropriate action based on information provided."

Vallejo Police are already under fire after it was revealed that a key piece of evidence in an investigation into another shooting had been destroyed.

Officials have asked the FBI to investigate the June 2 killing of 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa after it was found the windscreen that an officer fired through to kill Monterrosa was destroyed and the marked vehicle placed back into service "without prior consultation with the Police Chief or City Attorney's Office."

Police shot Monterrosa several times after responding to reports of lootings at the Walgreens parking lot. An officer at the scene believed Monterrosa was armed with a gun and was ready to fire.

After the officer fired five times through his windshield, it was later found that Monterrosa was in possession of a 15-inch hammer.

Vallejo Police have been contacted for comment.