One of the six California police officers who fired a barrage of bullets at Willie McCoy at a Vallejo Taco Bell had previously shot and killed an unarmed man and is the subject of an ongoing excessive force lawsuit. A second officer had been sued by the family of a Vallejo teenager in a police brutality case.

The Vallejo officer Ryan McMahon and five other policemen fired at McCoy, a 20-year-old aspiring rapper, after officers woke him up inside his car at a fast-food drive through earlier this month. McCoy died at the scene.

The McCoy family’s attorney, who recently viewed the young man’s body, said he was hit by what appeared to be roughly 25 shots, including in his face, throat, chest, ear and arms. His loved ones have called the death an “execution by a firing squad” and have accused police of racial profiling.

The department released the names of the six officers on Wednesday night in response to a Bay Area News Group records request. They were Ryan McMahon, Collin Eaton, Bryan Glick, Jordon Patzer, Anthony Romero-Cano and Mark Thompson.

'Executed by firing squad': video shows police firing a dozen shots at man Read more

Officer McMahon, who has been on the force for more than seven years, shot an unarmed black father of two just last year. On 13 February 2018, McMahon stopped Ronnell Foster, 32, who was riding his bike in downtown Vallejo. Foster fled toward an alley, prompting McMahon to chase after him and strike him over the head with a flashlight, according to a federal complaint. McMahon eventually shot Foster several times in the back and the back of his head.

The department claimed McMahon fired the fatal shots after Foster took the officer’s flashlight and raised it in a threatening manner, but an eyewitness disputed that account. The complaint noted there was no evidence that the officer was injured in any way, and when he called in the shooting to dispatch, his only statement was that Foster had fled from him.

It is unclear why McMahon followed or stopped Foster in the first place.

Foster left behind two children, now ages six and 14.

A troubled history

The police department in Vallejo, 30 miles north-east of San Francisco, has a troubled history of excessive force claims and controversial killings. McMahon is not the first officer in the department to be implicated in multiple shootings. One officer killed three men in a five-month period – and was subsequently promoted.

“Over and over and over, we have these cases in Vallejo, and we never have any discipline or re-training,” said Melissa Nold, a civil rights attorney who is representing McCoy’s family. “That is why people keep dying … It’s pretty disturbing.”

Nold’s law firm also represents the relatives of Foster, whose civil lawsuit against McMahon and the city of Vallejo continues.

“It’s rare for any police officer to use deadly force in the course of their career,” said Adante Pointer, an attorney for Foster’s family, noting that it was particularly rare for police to kill multiple people. “It is alarming … that he would be placed in a position where he can harm and kill citizens again while there is still ongoing litigation about the lawfulness of his use of force.”

Despite a continuing stream of deaths, Vallejo officials did not seem interested in trying to reduce the use of deadly force, said Nold: “How are you training officers if they are repeatedly taking lives?” The attorney said McCoy’s body was one of the most disturbing examples of police brutality and gun violence she had ever seen in her career.

Officer Thompson was sued in 2013 by the family of Anton Barrett and his teenage son. Barrett was unarmed when he was was shot by Vallejo police the year before. Thompson was not involved in the shooting, but was accused of directing his police dog to repeatedly “maul” Barrett’s 19-year-old son after the teen was handcuffed, according to the complaint. The officer was also accused of threatening to kill the son and calling him the n-word. The teenager ended up in the the hospital with bites to his face and legs.

The city denied the allegations and the case was eventually settled. Thompson was never criminally charged.

Vallejo police did not respond to a request for comment, and McMahon and Thompson could not immediately be reached.

‘We are being slaughtered in the streets’

The 9 February killing of McCoy has sparked national outrage, and a witness video, filmed from a distance, revealed that after the group of officers riddled him with lethal shots, they shouted a series of commands at him.

Police have alleged that McCoy had a handgun in his lap and had “moved his hands downward” when he was wakened. The department has not released body-camera footage.

Taco Bell had called 911 to report a man who appeared to be unconscious.

David Harrison, one of McCoy’s cousins who helped raise him, said Thursday he was not surprised to hear that one of the officers who shot his loved one had previously killed a man.

“It’s not shocking to me, because these guys are trained to do that,” Harrison, 48, told the Guardian. “We are just helpless. We are like sheep being led off to slaughter, and we are being slaughtered in the streets.”

Harrison said he wished McMahon had faced accountability after the first killing, but noted that his cousin would probably still be dead, given the involvement of five other officers.

“It’s a bigger problem than just that one officer,” he said. “This has just been going on for so long … It’s not just Willie. I want people to know that this could also be your child.”