Tahmon "Tay" and Tommy Wilson

On 19 August 2023 Martinez, California police shot and killed Tahmon “Tay” Wilson, 20, and critically injured his 22-year-old brother Tommy. The brothers were parked outside a cannabis store after hours where no theft or break-in had occurred when three police cars drove up to the parking lot; the cops leapt out of their cars and pulled out their guns. A second car drove off unimpeded, but as Tay attempted to drive past the cops, they fired a hail of bullets into the side and rear of the car striking Tay in the back of the head and Tommy in the back.

Four cops—Cole Bennett, Raul Ceja-Mendez,  Marc Kahue, and Alexander Tirona—took part in the shooting after responding to a 911 call from a remote camera surveillance operator. The police initially claimed a passenger was holding a gun, that the car assaulted an officer, and that the officers feared for their lives. Yet all evidence shows Wilson was only attempting to leave the scene. Police claimed that Wilson pinned an officer’s leg against his car, but the only injury reported was a knee contusion, i.e. a bruise. To complete their coverup, cops said they found a handgun in the car, a charge flatly denied by Wilson’s brother, family and lawyer. In fact, police gave Tommy Wilson a certificate in the hospital stating he faced no charges, i.e., neither he nor Tay had committed any offense!

Video footage shows how officer Giani Arone—who arrived later at the scene—pulled the wounded Tommy Wilson out of the car, handcuffed him, threw him to the ground chipping a tooth, and then kneed him in the head taunting, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” Later police handcuffed Tommy to his hospital bed before emergency surgery to deal with his life-threatening injuries.

As a result of the shootings, Arone was fired for use of excessive force on handcuffed Tommy and for taunting him. Two other cops were released from probationary employment because one carried an illegal concealed knife at the time and—together with Arone—covered it up. Raul Ceja-Mendez, remains on the force.

In November 2024 the Wilson family filed a civil rights lawsuit against the police and the city. For two-and-a-half years the family demanded the release of all of the video footage and police reports before some were finally released in March 2025. Since then, the police have been attempting to put a hold on the civil rights lawsuit, according to the family’s lawyer Adante Pointer. The California Department of Justice opened an investigation, as it routinely does for shooting of the unarmed, in August 2023. As of 2026, the investigation is still underway.

The Wilson brothers’ mother Arleta Nance has endorsed OPA. The Wilson family must have the truth behind the lies and coverups! Open all the police archives to public scrutiny! We call for all statements about the incident made by the four cops plus Arone—including any texts, emails or other communications among them—to be released, along with all recordings (audio, video, phone calls) and witness statements. In addition to all incident reports, we demand the cops’ personnel files, including from any other police agencies they have worked, be revealed.