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Torres-Walker “acknowledges” Wright, Motts for process, Thorpe reminds her she and current council voted for it;

Only 114 residents and business owners participated in the three closed door discussions; City spent $55,000 for the process;

“This report in my opinion does not reflect the views of the community and we should not change an entire organization based on its recommendations.” – District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica

“There were not enough people of color in the discussion, not enough Black people in the room” – District 1 Councilwoman Torres-Walker

“The woman who was facilitating my group…her report out was completely inaccurate” – Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson

Thorpe takes dig at Barbanica and Ogorchock for voting against accepting report

By Allen Payton

During their meeting, Tuesday night, March 23, all five Antioch City Council members pointed out flaws in the process and results contained in the final report from consultants on the three Bridging the Gap Virtual Roundtable Discussions on Racial Justice and Police-Community Relations. Nevertheless, instead of sending it back to the consultants and directing them to get it right and come back with an acceptable report, the council voted 3-2 in favor of accepting it, with only District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica and District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock voting against the motion. (See council meeting video, beginning at about the 3:55:00 mark)

The report states CNA, the consulting firm hired to facilitate the forums, performed three post-event surveys and received 63 completed surveys. “CNA prepared a summary of survey responses including all written comments that were provided,” the report explains. However, that summary wasn’t included in the report, but “that report will be delivered under a separate cover.”

Lead consultant Hildy Saizow, Senior Advisor of CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation, presented the report to the council stating, “the recommendations are based on community sentiments expressed in the discussions.” Second, they were based on “CNA’s knowledge of best practices in policing” and “Not based on an assessment of APD.” Bridging The Gap Final Report

Very Low Participation

The report shows that prior to the three discussions, out of 450 residents who opened a survey “to gauge the interest and availability of potential participants” including “the best dates and times, their access to and comfort with Zoom, and their willingness to participate on camera and to read materials in advance of the conversations,” “only 65 completed it.”

Yet, the forums were still held, including the final one at 10 a.m. on a Thursday, and council members complained about the lack of participation. Initially, the guidelines only allowed 75 participants in each session, with 15 people in each of five closed-door, round table, breakout groups. The consultants later increased the number of participants allowed. According to the report, out of 75 people who registered for the Jan. 19th discussion on Police Oversight, Accountability and Transparency, 57 participated; of the 99 who registered for the Feb. 6th discussion on Racial Disparities in Policing, only 36 participated; and finally of the 125 who registered for the discussion held on the morning of February 18th, only 21 participated for a total of 114 participants out of 299 who had registered, which is less than 0.1% of the city’s estimated population of 118,000.

Both council members and police officers observed the round table discussions to listen but did not participate.

The report offered 19 recommendations for the police department to implement under each of the three discussion topics, some of which Chief Tammany Brooks has already been implementing.

Council Critical of Entire Process That They Approved and Report

The council members weren’t happy with the process, the participation levels nor the report of what was discussed in the round table groups and said little about the proposed recommendations.

“The experience I had here was quite a bit different,” Barbanica said. “And I appreciate was attempted to be accomplished here. When I first started in this process, I had set up a time to reach out…and get in touch with CNA and have a private session. I attended the meeting, it was about 7 a.m. only to find out halfway through the meeting I found out I was in another city’s meeting. I made it clear I was in support of law enforcement one of the members started laughing. I asked them ‘why are you laughing?’ I didn’t get a real warm feeling of what was going on.”

Barbanica Opposes Changing PD Based on Report

“One-tenth of 1% of our community participated in this,” he continued. “I am for a lot of the things that were brought up here, tonight and I’ve been supportive of them, transparency, more training, body cameras, recruitment, youth involvement. All for that. But one of the problems that I saw with this process is…I attended all sessions. The first session…I was keeping a tally of what people were bringing up…and there wasn’t support in the group of civilian oversight. When we went back and reported out…the facilitator said, “overwhelmingly our group supported…civilian oversight.” He emailed CNA that evening and asked to watch the video of the session. “I said the numbers aren’t adding up here to what was reported. When they emailed me back, they said… ‘sorry, that was the one area that wasn’t recorded.”

“Then I started getting calls from other people that had attended other sessions and they were telling me the same thing, what their groups were actually reporting and talked about, were not reported with the actual facilitator when they came back,” Barbanica said.

“This cost us as a community, almost $55,000 and the police department wasn’t even allowed to participate in this or give any info,” he concluded. “This report in my opinion does not reflect what the community said in those meetings and it’s such a small sample of the community that how can we change an entire organization based on that.”

Torres-Walker Takes Swipe at Former Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem

“I want to acknowledge our former council, former Mayor Sean Wright and City Council Member Joy Motts who voted for this process. It was proposed by the former mayor,” said District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker said rather backhandedly. “And it was in lieu of an ad hoc committee that could have did just as much work and probably produced just as much, maybe the same results or different. We’ll never know because this process was proposed by the last council and championed by Sean Wright. So, that’s one point of fact, right there.”

“A lot of folks had reservations about the process, because we didn’t think that there would be enough participation, especially from people who have been impacted by, whether it was, you know police misconduct, harassment, whatever, what not. But we moved forward because people wanted a public process,” she continued. “Yes, participation was limited. I didn’t necessarily agree with that.”

Wanted Police to Participate “To Hear The Harm That They Pose”

“Also…I was informed that the police probably wouldn’t even participate because some people felt like it wouldn’t be safe for them to be transparent in their experience, for them to talk about their experience while law enforcement was in the room,” Torres-Walker stated. “And I specifically said ‘well, you can’t hold someone accountable if they’re not in the room to hear the harm that they pose on the community.’ Like, how can you hold me accountable as to a relationship if I’m not in the room? So, I wanted law enforcement to be in the room.”

“None of us participated,” she continued. “So, when everybody says law enforcement didn’t get to participate, they didn’t get to provide their input, nobody asked them any questions. We didn’t speak in these meetings. We were all observers. None of us fully participated. But because it was a community process, we decided that it was reasonable to step back and let the community have a voice.”

Blames Police Department for Lack of Information

“I want to highlight that there was one thing that came out in a group that I was in when we looked at the police data,” Torres-Walker continued. “People were like, what does this data say…how do we know if this data is telling the truth about the situation? This data was provided by the police department.”

“So, if you have a problem with the data, then you have to take those complaints to the police department,” she stated.

“I think there were people who felt like the report backs from the groups weren’t robust enough. I got phone calls myself,” Torres-Walker shared. “But I think it was an investment. People put in the time and we have to figure out how to make this work with some of the platform that the mayor has already put forward and we have already started to move on this council.”

“One thing I will say is that it says racial justice…and there were not enough people of color in the room, in this discussion, and not enough Black people and I want to point that out, as well,” she stated. “I also want to say that in one of my meetings someone said, ‘you know, I was here before the Blacks got here’. And I think that’s why we need to have conversations about race in this city. Because those same people are quoting Malcolm X, quoting MLK while also spewing hate about Black people. So, we really have a lot of work still to do. I appreciate this process that was recommended and championed by the former mayor and hope we can move some of this forward.”

Thorpe Corrects Torres-Walker

“This entire process was interestingly very public,” Mayor Lamar Thorpe stated refuting Torres-Walker’s comments.  “We actually voted for the very process. This council, all five of us, here voted. I brought this forward to the council to get feedback as to what direction we wanted to go in and you all voted for the very process that we were in. To create some type of ulterior narrative that something different happened was the very process all five of us either voted or we gave direction. But it was unanimous. I recall that because Rosanna and Ron brought that to me, and I said let’s take it to the council and let them decide. This was the process all five of us voted collectively.”

Ogorchock Wanted Police to Participate

“I agree that we five would not say anything. So, we voted that we would not speak. I agree 110% with that,” Ogorchock said. “But I don’t agree with our police department and police chief not give what the police department is doing. To bridge a gap, to me, all parties have to participate. If we had a conversation with our police chief we would know what he’s been doing. There’s Coffee with the Cops. So, I find it odd that had there been a conversation with him…we would have known what the police department is doing and we wouldn’t have had some of these.”

“In reading some of the stuff, it talks about youth engagement…SRO’s would have done exactly what this is saying,” Ogorchock stated.

“I don’t agree with the report. I do believe there are a lot of things that are in here, there are a lot of things that are being done,” she added.

Wilson Also Critical of Process, Report

“I have mixed feelings. I too was disappointed with the attendance,” said Mayor Pro Tem and District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson. “I don’t know if that was a combination of did we do enough outreach or did we do the right kind of outreach. I know we had one of the meetings, it was supposed to be a Spanish-speaking meeting. I went to all of them and two of my groups…there was two individuals that were in my previous groups. So, obviously there was some repeats going on. Some people had difficulties logging in. Sometimes they got the log-in information late.”

“The woman who was facilitating my group…her report out was completely inaccurate. I was wondering if I was in the same group,” she continued.

“I think in one meeting there were three city council members, the city manager and two officers in the same room,” Wilson shared. “I’m just going to take what was reported out…I’m just going to walk away with this is what we should be working on.”

“Yes, we can take some items and learn from them and get better,” Barbanica added. “I just don’t agree with all of them. For the record, when all of this started, I reached out to the city manager and said I didn’t agree with the process with the police department not being involved.”

“This was a conversation that the community wanted to have. We had a lot of engagement at the beginning. We know that these are difficult and challenging conversations to have,” Thorpe stated. “As our work with the committee of the whole, we will apply what we choose to apply. We already have the direction we’re going in regards to police reform. Hopefully this adds some value to our discussions as we try to move forward.

Council Splits 3-2 on Accepting Report

“Are we accepting the report? Do we need to accept the report,” he asked.

“The agenda does include a recommended action to formally accept the report,” responded Assistant City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore.

Torres-Walker then moved approval to accept the final report. Wilson seconded the motion.

“What if I don’t accept the report. What if I don’t agree with the outcomes of the report?” Ogorchock asked.

“Then, that’s your choice. You can vote however you want,” Thorpe replied.

“Yes, you can vote however you want,” City Attorney Thomas Smith interjected. “If a majority of the city council didn’t accept the report then my thought is you can give direction whether or not something that is missing or whether there is something there. Or you can just not to accept it.”

“A lot of these things, you know they are are general categories…on that youth recommendation, were you specifically talking about cops on school campuses?” Thorpe asked Saizow, in response to Ogorchock’s earlier comment.

“No,” she replied.

City Clerk Ellie Householder did a roll call for the vote, asking the mayor last.

Thorpe Takes Dig at Ogorchock and Barbanica

Thorpe hesitated before saying “ah, yes” providing the third vote for passage of the motion to accept the report.

“I’m laughing because I didn’t want this, but I have to vote yes, because the folks who wanted this can’t even accept it,” he said.

City Clerk Ellie Householder announced the results of the vote, 3-2 with Ogorchock and Barbanica voting against.

“Unbelievable,” Thorpe added.

He will be joined by California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Contra Costa Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey and UCSF child psychiatry expert Dr. Petra Steinbuchel

Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-11) announced that he will host a town hall on Tuesday, March 30th from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. PT on the impact of coronavirus on students and getting back to school. The event will be held live on Zoom and on DeSaulnier’s official Facebook page.

DeSaulnier will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss school safety, learning loss, and mental and behavioral health support, including:

• Tony Thurmond, California Superintendent of Public Instruction;
• Lynn Mackey, Contra Costa Superintendent of Schools; and
• Dr. Petra Steinbuchel, Director of the UCSF Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Portal.

This will be the Congressman’s 128th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress. Contra Costa residents will have an opportunity to submit questions before the event and live during the town hall.

Coronavirus and Education Virtual Town Hall
Tuesday, March 30th
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT

This event is open to the public and press.

To RSVP, submit a question, or request special accommodations, visit https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call (925) 933-2660.

 

Continues to provide incorrect figures of additional sworn officers funded by Measures C and W – actually 26 more not 32; Code Enforcement staffing and activity increased

By Allen Payton

During the Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Antioch Council meeting, the Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee presented their 7th Annual Report on the use of Measure C and Measure W funds. There was a total of $15,582,340 in Measure W funds and $120,468 in Measure C funds received in Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2020. The report is required by April 1, each year.

Measure C was approved by Antioch voters in 2014 and established the city’s half-cent sales tax for seven year. “Measure W was approved by the voters in November 2018 and went into effect on April 1, 2019, which increased the tax to 1% and extends for 20 years,” the report states.

The presentation was provided by the outgoing chair of the committee, Susana Williams and current Vice Chair Dr. Kate Svyatets.

“Based on our review, we can ascertain all Measure C and Measure W monies are accounted for and meet the objectives of these Measures,” the report begins. “The entire balance of Measure C monies remaining were allocated to police per the City Council.”

“Measure W will continue to maintain our public safety services, as well as other quality of life services such as code enforcement, we are cleaning up blight, repairing roads, we’re supporting youth and senior services, recreation, etc.,” Williams shared. The report also shows the funds area used to attract new business and jobs to Antioch.

Incorrect Figures of Net Additional Sworn Officers

“Since the start of Measure C in 2014, the City hired 85 sworn police officers with a net gain of 32 sworn police officers,” Svyatets said. “By the end of the latest fiscal year 2020, the city of Antioch has 115 sworn officers.”

However, the information she provided is incorrect. There were 89 officers on the Antioch Police force at the time Measure C was placed on the ballot, according to the ballot argument in favor of the measure by the mayor and council at that time. The Arguments For Measure C read, “A Yes on Measure C will allow us to immediately hire 22 new police officers, decreasing the time it takes to respond to 911 calls. Our police force has dwindled from 126 officers four years ago to only 89 today.”

That means the City had an actual net gain of 26 sworn officers funded by Measures C and W.

Violent & Property Crime Continues to Decrease

There has been an “Overall reduction of 13.9% in Part 1 Crime compared to 2019 for the eighth consecutive year. ‘Part 1 Crimes’ are those which are mandated to report to the FBI under our Unified Crime Reporting (UCR),” the report continues. They include violent crimes of homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and property crimes of burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft. Arson is also included but categorized separately.

The report shows that 83.77% of Measure W funds were spent on police in the 2019-20 Fiscal Year, and 8.3% on recreation, 6.92% on code enforcement and the remaining 1% on other city services.

Police Calls for Service

The report shows there were a total of 92,557 police calls for service during the fiscal year with the top four being 21.2% for quality of life calls, 17.7% person or vehicle stops, 14.3% for fire or medical and 12.7% for information.

Recreation Programs Funded

The report shows that $1,293,382 was allocated for Recreation Programs and that there is a $350,000 balance remaining of those funds due to facilities/programs being closed because of the pandemic.

Key Programs Funded by Measure W:

• Rolling with Rec bus
• Family Nights (including Summer Movie Nights, Paw Parade, Game nights, and Performance/Concern Night)
• Pop-Up Recreation (Afterschool Park Programs): offered at different parks throughout the City
• Preschool Academy Classes (expanded the program to make Montessori curriculum)
• Dance team Classes (expanded to include Afro Beats and Hip-Hop classes)
• Camptoberfest (expansion of camp for the fall break)
• Big Truck Day
• Adventures in fun and fitness (ages 6 through 12); and
• Tumbling Program (for ages 2 through 12)

Code Enforcement Expanded

A total of six additional Code Enforcement Officers were hired as a result of both Measures C and W, plus two Development Services/ Engineering Technicians, four maintenance workers and two laborers.

The report shows the following Code Enforcement activity for FY 2020:

• 2,087 Code Enforcement cases opened in 2020 and 1,066 cases opened in 2019
• 2,788 cases closed in 2020 and 1,127 cases closed in 2019
• 5,538 cubic yards of blight and rubbish abated in 2020 and 7,056 cubic yards in 2019
• 1,394 shopping carts abated in 2020 and 1,506 shopping carts in 2019

Vehicle Abatement

The report also provided that, “The City continues its active Vehicle Abatement Program with 488 Vehicle Abatement Notices Issued 407 citations issued in 2020.”

Sources of Funds

The report also shows the top sources of sales tax revenue from Measure W.

“As you can see general retail and transportation were the bulk of the monies that came in,” Williams said. “That was followed by business-to-business and food products, and then the rest of it went in the construction area and there’s a miscellaneous area. These figures are sourced by the City of Antioch’s finance department.”

“We’re really blessed in having some very large, big box retailers,” she continued. “So, you can see 7-11 tops the list, followed closely by Amazon. We’ve got a lot of our auto dealerships in here, Best Buy, Costco. So, you can get a really good idea of the types of businesses that are contributing to this sales tax.”

Shoots out window and breaks into house, police provide description of suspect

By Antioch Police Department

Saturday evening, March 27, 2021around 6:30 pm, the Oakley Police Department engaged in a pursuit of a stolen vehicle in the City of Antioch. During the pursuit, the driver of the stolen vehicle led officers around the area of Costco and ultimately into the downtown Antioch area. While in the downtown area, someone in the stolen vehicle fired at least one round from that car and struck a passing motorist’s vehicle. Fortunately, that driver wasn’t injured.

Shortly thereafter, the stolen vehicle crashed into a parked car and the driver fled while officers set up in the area being guided by the Sheriff’s office helicopter. The driver of the vehicle was caught a few short blocks later and was arrested without further incident.

However, another occupant of the vehicle also fled on foot into a nearby yard on W. 3rd Street and was apparently armed with a handgun. As he jumped into a rear yard, he was approached by the homeowner’s dog, which he shot. He then attempted to gain entry into the house and eventually shot out the rear sliding glass door while the homeowner and his 14-year-old son were in the living room. They fled out the front window of the house and escaped unharmed while the suspect then ran upstairs and took vehicle keys and a green mechanic’s coverall piece of clothing before fleeing yard-to-yard on foot towards K Street.

A Concord PD K9 team was on scene shortly after this incident unfolded, and attempted a search for the outstanding suspect, but was unable to locate him. The suspect outstanding is described as a white or Hispanic male in his early 20’s, approximately 5’ 9” tall with a thin build. He may be wearing a green mechanic coverall-type garment and was last seen in the area of W. 3rd Street and K Street.

Oakley PD has custody of the driver at this time and the investigation is still in progress. The injured dog was taken to an area emergency vet by an Antioch Police officer and its condition is not known at this time.

Anyone with any information as to this case is urged to call the Antioch Police Department at (925) 778-2441, or the Oakley Police Department at (925) 646-2441.