Demand the immediate firing of Vallejo police officers for killing rapper Willie McCoy

City of Vallejo

On February 9th, Bay Area native 20 year old Willie McCoy was shot and killed by six police officers while sitting in his car in the drive-through of a Taco Bell. Willie McCoy's family is demanding answers from the City of Vallejo for another incident of gun violence. They believe he was racially profiled and the response of the city officials was unjustified. Willie aka Willie Bo was an up-and-coming rapper with a lot of potential who performed with a group called FBG. His friends and family describe Willie as a man with integrity, "Willie was a giver...If he ate, you ate."

On March 13th, Willie's family saw footage from an officer's body camera. The footage suggests that he was not awake when the six police officers opened fire and that he appeared to be scratching himself and not grabbing for a weapon. In the video, the officers told Willie to show them his hands and then quickly shot him. He never heard the officers identify themselves as police. For about 15 minutes before the shooting, the officers were standing around and didn't appear to have a plan of action that could have prevented someone from getting hurt.


There is no mention whether Willie fired his weapon and none of the officers were injured. Attorneys for Willie's family said he was shot about 25 times, including in the face, throat, and upper body. All six of the officers, who have served from 7 months to 12 years with the Vallejo Police Department, were placed back on duty.

On March 29th, the City of Vallejo released body camera footage to the public and shows that the Vallejo officials encountered Willie as he sat in the front seat of his car sleeping near a local drive-through restaurant and proceeded to shoot and kill him.

Police violence is gun violence. No one deserves to be shot dead in our communities. We need to talk about community safety in a nuanced way that acknowledges how law enforcement is seen by our communities.

We can break the pattern of gun violence by naming it as a national emergency. Let's keep up the pressure. We must continue to demand justice for Willie McCoy and hold the City of Vallejo accountable for another incident of gun violence.

To: City of Vallejo
From: [Your Name]

No one deserves to be shot dead in our communities. We need to talk about community safety in a nuanced way that acknowledges how law enforcement is seen by our communities. We all understand the value of what it means to be safe in our communities and we must acknowledge that police violence is gun violence. Our communities deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

I demand the immediate firing of the City of Vallejo officials who shot and killed Willie McCoy.