Letter: private investigator, former cop and councilman writes Antioch police force needs “some improvements”
Editor:
Antioch needs to reform its overall sworn police and operations! The police operations and its personnel are generally carried out and handled properly, but there definitely needs some improvements with both. I speak from my personal, vast 50 plus years’ experience, education, training, investigations, and facts (not preconceived ideas or popular notions)! That is about 75,000 hours of my public safety related investigations work.
In many of my investigations the absurd and unrealistic Police excuses for abusing and/or killing individuals that they claimed presented a danger to the Police, included – an unarmed completely naked man killed, an unarmed person running away from the Police killed, an unarmed person pulling up his pants killed, an unarmed driver backing up shot several times in the back of his head, an unarmed man dancing severely beaten and the K9 also sicced on him, an unarmed man furtively moved killed, an unarmed man holding a cell phone killed, an unarmed man hiding next to a vehicle killed, etc. In each of these cases the officers’ police department, and D.A.’s Office, who jointly investigated (to include in Antioch’s) claimed that the officer(s) acted properly, and no accountability was required.
Along with other cities Antioch’s public safety operations and police operations fall short in some areas. Antioch’s police abuses, misconduct, and even unwarranted serious injuries and killings of some of our civilians over the years warrants an honest review and correction, long overdue. It is my belief that over 95% of our sworn Antioch officers are good, honest, hardworking, and deserving of our support and individual recognition. The rest deserve to be individually disciplined, removed from the police force where appropriate, and even criminally charged whenever warranted.
I have also thoroughly investigated some Antioch police-contact incidents where civilians were physically abused, their constitutional rights violated (decided by the court), some killed, and even some were lied about in court. When the police and administration were informed about such then the wheels of injustices and cover ups commenced, including with former Police Chief Cantando who did little to nothing about it. This included where an Antioch black male was arrested, charged, and later further victimized in trials by an officer! Fortunately, he was quickly acquitted by the jury, and won a civil settlement from the city. I also believed and reported that the officer perjured himself in the case several times. When complained to former Chief Cantando he did little about it. And, some of those who were complained of were thereafter even promoted, and some have retired afterwards with higher rank and its related increased retirement pay.
I believe that if appropriate, required, complete, and thorough internal Police investigations had been carried out then those responsible would have been held accountable via various levels of discipline and accountability. When some of those Antioch Officers responsible were asked at depositions they revealed that they were not even asked about what they did until years later – just before they appeared under subpoena! It was and is within the Police Chief’s responsibility and authority to have initiated such, but the former Chief Cantando did not. If he had spent more efforts and energy on his Chief’s responsibilities, and less on his reported then personal efforts, then perhaps Antioch’s police operations and personnel would not need as much current reviews and changes now required. Antioch’s citizenry deserves better and rightfully now have risen and have demanded needed changes!
I have worked through current Chief Tammany Brooks over the recent past concerning information that I had received about some criminal events and those involved, to include gang members’ operations, drugs and guns trafficking, and gang killings occurring in Antioch. Fortunately, the current Chief Tammany Brooks properly responded and acted on those pieces of information and facts. I encourage every member of our community to communicate with our police and its management in efforts to address Antioch’s public safety environment. This includes supporting hiring more police, not having less as is mistakenly suggested, and improving its overall police personnel accountability.
I stand by my many public written letters and personal appearances over the years before the city councils supporting the police overall, and still do about most of such. I believe that no one has publicly done so more than I have over the years. That is a fact. And, I still believe that we need more Police manpower, and their budgeting needs to be reworked also!
Ralph A. Hernandez
Antioch
