Crime & Safety

Slain Vallejo Police Officer Was Vacaville Resident, Second Suspect Still At Large

Vallejo Police Officer James Capoot, of Vacaville, died from injuries he sustained while attempting to apprehend a bank robber today in Vallejo. Police continue to hunt for a second suspect wanted in connection with the crime

Bay City News Service

Vallejo police have identified the officer who was fatally shot while pursuing a suspected bank robber this afternoon as James Capoot.

Capoot served on the Vallejo Police Department for 19 years, during which time he received two Medals of Courage, according to police Sgt. Jeff Bassett.

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Capoot responded to reports of a bank robbery at the Bank of America on Springs Road at around 1:30 p.m., police said.

He spotted the suspect vehicle, a silver SUV, near the bank and a car chase followed, ending about 3 or 4 miles away in the 100 block of Janice Street, according to police.

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Capoot forced the suspect's SUV to spin out and chased the suspect on foot when he ran into a residential neighborhood, Bassett said.

Responding officers who were following Capoot heard several shots fired and found Capoot wounded in a backyard, Bassett said.

He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Bassett said a suspect whose identity has not been released was taken into custody at or near the scene of the shooting and a search continues for other possible suspects.

"We have scaled back (the search)," Bassett said. "But we have not ruled out that there may be another suspect involved."

Capoot was survived by a wife and three daughters. Bassett said Capoot was very involved in the community in Vacaville and Vallejo, where he coached high school girls' basketball.

"He's a guy that's loved by everybody," Bassett said.

Bassett praised Capoot's long career in law enforcement -- prior to working in Vallejo, Capoot worked for the California Highway Patrol and served in the Marine Corp -- and thanked the community for their outpouring of sympathy.

"We're a small police department...we're a tight family," Bassett said. "There's nobody in the police department who was not affected by this."

Editor's Note: The attached PDF file of the Vallejo Police Officer's Association "In Your City" magazine contains a full profile of Capoot and gives more details of his life.


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