Malik Jefferson. Source: APD

Presented to Contra Costa DA for multiple felony charges including firearms-related and probation violations

By Antioch Police Department

On December 12, 2022, Antioch Police officers were dispatched to a shooting on Peppertree Way. Responding officers learned the responsible shot at a group of individuals, but thankfully, no one was hurt.

In days following the initial incident, members of the Antioch Police Department’s Gang Unit took over the investigation and were able to identify the responsible as 23-year-old, Malik Jefferson.

On Feb. 16, 2023, gang investigators and members from the Special Investigations Unit were able to locate Jefferson driving on Vasco Road just south of the Brentwood city limits. An enforcement stop was conducted, and Jefferson was placed under arrest and transported to county jail. A search warrant was also conducted at Jefferson’s residence in the City of Livermore.

This case will be presented to the District Attorney’s office for consideration of multiple felony charges including firearms-related and probation violations.

The Antioch Police Department wants the media to verify anything sent out by the City’s contracted public information officer Rolando Bonilla before publishing.

By Allen D. Payton

The battle between who is in charge of informing the public about crime in Antioch and what occurs with the police department and the city manager and the City’s public information officer continued Saturday afternoon. Following the publishing of a news article containing comments falsely attributed to Antioch Police Chief Steve Ford, the department issued a press release asking Bay Area media asking to confirm with APD anything sent by the City’s contract PIO, Rolando Bonilla about the police department prior to publication.

The APD press release reads as follows:

The following statement is being issued by Antioch Police Lieutenant Michael Mellone in his capacity as the supervisor of our media relations team:

“I have become aware that some Bay Area media outlets may have received a statement from City of Antioch PIO Ronaldo Bonilla purported to be on behalf of our Chief of Police, Dr. Steven A. Ford. Mr. Bonilla is employed by Voler Strategic Advisors and is the contracted PIO for the City of Antioch. Specifically, a statement attributed in Chief Ford’s name was provided to KRON 4 related to a recent news event involving a series of commercial burglaries, and our delayed response times. While Mr. Bonilla is a contracted PIO for the City of Antioch, he is not the PIO for the Police Department. Our official PIO is Officer Ashley Crandell and I am her supervisor.

Chief Ford has authorized me to inform all media that this attribution in his name provided to KRON 4 was never made or authorized by him personally. We have learned that this statement was provided to KRON 4 from Mr. Bonilla representing himself as the City of Antioch PIO.

Any media outlets receiving statements on behalf of the Antioch Police Department from an individual outside of our organization are respectfully requested to verify the accuracy of these statements by contacting PIO Officer Ashley Crandell (email: acrandell@antiochca.gov), myself (email: mmellone@antiochca.gov), or the Antioch Police Department member directly, which is something we can help facilitate if needed.

KRON 4 has since retracted the statement attributed to Chief Ford’s name incorrectly, with an editor’s note indicating it was provided by an unauthorized representative. We appreciate KRON 4 staff working with us to quickly correct this issue and invite any media to communicate openly with us over matters involving our Police Department. Chief Ford has directed us to embrace best practice police policies on transparency, which involves open communication with media and our community. We continue to investigate this incident and will provide relevant updates when it is appropriate to do so.”

Bonilla, who answers to City Manager Con Johnson, and works with the mayor and council members, was sent a copy of Mellone’s statement and asked if he had any response.

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

Reporter claims City’s PIO Rolando Bonilla worked with Dr. Ford and spokesman on statements; Chief informs department; Bonilla claims city manager authorized statement, APD spokesman retracted Ford’s comment Friday night; but APD spokesman says Bonilla didn’t work with him or chief on either statement

“I… have no idea where this is coming from” – Antioch Police Chief Steven A. Ford

KRON4 updates article removing comment attributed to Ford

By Allen D. Payton

A KRON4 News article published Friday afternoon, Feb. 17, 2023 claims Antioch Police Chief Steve Ford took a swipe at his own officers following a statement they issued slamming Mayor Lamar Thorpe on Friday. But Chief Ford denies he made the comment and his department’s spokesman claims it was from the City’s contracted public information officer, Rolando Bonilla. The City’s PIO in turn claims City Manager Con Johnson authorized the statement sent to the San Francisco Bay Area TV station.

The article reads, “Ford wrote in a statement to KRON4, ‘Last night, (Chief Strategic Officer Rolando) Bonilla worked with my team and I to develop and distribute a letter to our community where the Antioch Police Department takes full responsibility for the recent burglaries. As someone seeking to reform the Antioch Police Department, I am troubled by the Antioch Police Union’s attempt to create divisions for the sake of maintaining the status quo. Their circus like antics will not in any way interfere with the necessary reforms I am undertaking within the Antioch Police Department.’”

Screenshot of original KRON4 News article with unauthorized Chief Ford quote published Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

APOA Denies Ford Took Swipe at Officers

However, according to Antioch Police Officers Association (APOA) President Rick Hoffman, Ford sent out an email message to the department personnel Friday night denying he made the statement.

“Supposedly the Chief called what we did circus antics? Well, we’ve confirmed this was a lie. The Chief never made that comment to KRON 4,” Hoffman informed the Herald Saturday morning. “He’s beside himself pi**ed.”

“We’re getting to the bottom of it and we’ll probably put something out today or very soon. This supposed statement was from Rolando,” the APOA president continued.

“The Chief sent this email to our department last night,” Hoffman wrote referring to Ford’s clarification. “I’ve never seen such a thing.”

Asked who sent that out, Mayor Lamar Thorpe and/or Bonilla, Hoffman responded, “I’m assuming Rolando. We’re getting to the bottom of it.”

Chief Ford’s Clarification email message sent to his department’s personnel on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

Chief Ford’s Email to Police Department

The email sent by Chief Ford Friday night Feb. 17 to police department personnel reads:

“Clarification

Good evening members of the Antioch Police Department.

I’ve come to learn of an article asserting that I personally authored messaging to KRON4 news.

To be clear, I have had no correspondence of any kind with any news media outlets, and moreover have no idea where this is coming from.

Our sole focus is to continue building into a high performing policing organization anchored in community centered policing, while also emphasizing strong public safety.

I truly appreciate all of you for your effort and dedication to the profession.

Please have a great weekend and stay safe.

Sincerely,

Steven A. Ford, Ed.D

————————-

Question for KRON4 Reporter Goes Unanswered

A question was sent to the KRON4 reporter, Amy Larson, was sent via Twitter asking, “did Antioch Police Chief Ford send the statement you attribute to him included in your article or was that from City of Antioch PIO Rolando Bonilla?” She has not responded as of publication time.

Questions for Bonilla, Johnson

A link to the KRON4 article, the quote attributed to Ford and a copy of his Friday night email to APD personnel, and the following questions were sent Saturday morning via email to Bonilla, Johnson and Thorpe, and copied to the other four council members, City Attorney Thomas L. Smith and Hoffman:

“Rolando, did you send the statement to KRON4 News that their reporter attributes to Chief Ford which he claims he didn’t make and knows nothing about? If so, did you send it to any other media?

Con and Lamar, were you aware Rolando was sending that to KRON4 and/or any other media?

Did either of you review and/or approve the statement before it was sent out?

What is the process for the City’s public information officer to communicate with the media? Do all of his press releases get reviewed and approved by Con before being issued?

If Rolando did send the statement attributing quotes to Chief Ford he claims he never made and without approval or permission, is that grounds for terminating his contract?”

Bonilla Claims Johnson Authorized Ford’s Statement, PD Retracted

In response, Bonilla forwarded the following email message sent Saturday morning by him to Johnson:

From: Rolando Bonilla
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2023 9:13 AM
To: Johnson, Con
Subject: Statement

Con-

Late last night, I received a phone call from Lt. Mallone [sic] informing me that Chief Ford is backtracking the statement you authorized for release yesterday morning.

You should be aware of this.

R”

—————

Questions for City Manager Go Unanswered

In response to Bonilla’s email questions were sent to Johnson asking, “Did you approve the statement attributed to Chief Ford that Rolando sent to the media yesterday? Did you coordinate the statement with the chief before approving it?”

Questions for Chief Ford, Lt. Mellone

Questions were then sent to Chief Ford and Lt. Michael Mellone asking if what Bonilla claims is correct. They were also asked if there was any coordination between Ford and Bonilla regarding the statement to the media included in the KRON4 News article, and if he directed Lt. Mellone to retract his statement Friday night.

Mellone Responds Denies Ford Made Statement, Working with KRON4 on Retraction

In response to the questions sent to him and Chief Ford, Lt. Mellone responded via email claiming his boss had nothing to do with the statement in the article attributed to him and, “I have had numerous conversations with Chief Ford about this matter and he emphatically denies authorizing any statements to KRON4 in his name about the burglary incidents occurring in Antioch within the last week. He further indicates that the statement as written and attributed to him on the KRON4 news article did not come from him, nor did agree to have such statement published in his name.

I have specifically emailed KRON4 (and been in phone communication with their staff) on the Chief’s request and demanded this statement be retracted because Chief Ford informs me, he never authorized or made it. We have been informed that this statement was provided to KRON4 by Mr. Rolando Bonilla, who as you know, is the City of Antioch’s contracted PIO, however, he is not the PIO for the Police Department. KRON4 is working with us to retract the statement, however, I can see where they were accepting information provided to them by Mr. Bonilla in his capacity as the City’s contracted PIO.

While we investigate this matter, I ask you, and will be asking all Bay Area media outlets in another email to please confirm any statements received from a third party (such as Mr. Bonilla) made on behalf of the Antioch Police Department (or our members) with me. For reference, I oversee our PIO and media relations efforts, so I am the best person to ask for confirmation on these matters on behalf of the Police Department, unless the media wishes to go directly to the source, which I can certainly facilitate.”

Pressed further asking if he had called Bonilla about the matter Friday night, Mellone responded, “I did call Mr. Bonilla last night, because the statement provided to KRON4 indicated that Chief Ford worked with Mr. Bonilla (as a team) to craft the open letter penned in my name to the Antioch Community – this is false. (See related article)

I wrote that open letter entirely myself during the morning prior to the release. I signed my name to it, showed it to Captain Schnitzius and our Chief, transmitted it to media through our normal methods, and posted it to our social accounts which you have undoubtedly seen.

The statement attributed in Chief Ford’s name to KRON4, which I informed is not one he ever made or authorized, indicated my open letter was collaborated over with Mr. Bonilla and Chief Ford on the night after it was released. This is also false, because the letter was authored that morning and posted to our social media platforms at 3:32 pm, not at night which is claimed in the untrue statement attributed to Chief Ford’s name provided to KRON4. The only manner in which Mr. Bonilla was informed of my open letter is when I placed a call to him minutes before distributing it to media according to our current policy. During this call, I told him we were publishing the letter, and we had some conversation which I am withholding at this time while we investigate this matter internally. Mr. Bonilla in no way assisted me with writing any of the content which is alleged in the false statement attributed in Chief Ford’s name to KRON4.”

Further Questions for Johnson, Bonilla and Thorpe Go Unanswered

Additional questions were then sent to Johnson, Bonilla and Thorpe and copying the other four council members and city attorney asking, “Did either of you work with Chief Ford to develop the statement sent to KRON4 attributed to him? Please provide copies of any emails among you three regarding the development and approval of the statement.

Is there an effort to foment division in the police department between the chief and the police officers, specifically the leadership of the APOA? If so, is that being directed by Mayor Thorpe?

Thorpe was asked specifically, were you involved in any way in the development of the statement attributed to Chief Ford? Have you had a falling out with the chief regarding the operation of his department?

Is this part of an effort to create grounds for terminating Chief Ford?”

An additional question was sent to Bonilla asking if what Mellone claims is correct, that they didn’t work together on the statement issued apologizing for the slow response to the restaurant burglaries earlier this week.

Public Records Act Requests Made

A Public Records Act (PRA) request was made for any and all communications by and between Thorpe and Ford, and by and between Thorpe and Johnson discussing Ford since the chief was appointed to his permanent position. In addition, if it’s not provided in response to the email, an additional PRA was made for any communication by and between Con, Steve and Rolando regarding the development and authorization of the statement.

APOA Issues Statement

In a post on their Facebook page on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 18, 2023, APOA Vice President Loren Bledsoe posted screenshots of the news article and Chief Ford’s email to the department and wrote, “The APOA was alarmed to learn of a recent news report by KRON4 that in part covered a written statement by Chief Ford. In that statement, Chief Ford is quoted as comparing the APOA’s efforts to be transparent as ‘circus like antics.’ Out of concern, we reached out to Chief Ford. What’s more alarming is Chief Ford confirmed he never spoke with anyone from KRON4 or issued a statement of any kind to anyone. We have learned the Department has reached out to KRON4 who is in the process of rectifying the issues; however, in the meantime we felt it prudent to share this information with our community! The APOA enjoys a healthy relationship with Chief Ford and we strongly support his mission and goals for the department, prioritizing community relationships and public safety.

Loren Bledsoe

APOA Vice President

Please review the attachments and the original article, in photographs, because KRON 4 News has since removed the unauthorized statement.”

——————–

Screenshot of updated KRON 4 News article.

KRON4 Updates Article Retracting Comment Falsely Attributed to Ford

The KRON4 News article was updated at 12:12 p.m. Saturday with the following statement at the top, “Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove a statement attributed to Antioch Police Chief Steven Ford that the chief said was provided by an unauthorized spokesperson.”

Thorpe Responds

No other responses were received prior to publication time. Please check back later for any updates to this report.

Suspect arrested twice more in past three months for false imprisonment, battery, vehicle theft

By Lieutenant Michael Mellone, Antioch Police Support Services Bureau

On Friday, February 17, 2023, at 9:03 am, APD officers were dispatched to the area of Country Hills Drive and the 4800 block of Chism Way on a 911 call reporting a stabbing. Officers arrived and located a male victim suffering from a significant stab wound to the stomach. Both the victim and another male were holding down a subject – who was identified as 55-year-old Johnnie Ray Bryce of Concord.

Officers learned from witness statements and video evidence that Bryce was seen by area residents casing vehicles on the street and in private driveways. Residents confronted Bryce about his actions, and he responded by brandishing a knife at them. During the ensuing altercation, one of the area residents suffered a stab wound to the stomach. Other area residents (who were witnessing events) chased after Bryce and held him to the ground until police arrived.

Responding officers took Bryce into custody and recovered the presumed stabbing instrument, which was a black foldable pocketknife. They also located suspected methamphetamine, burglary tools, and a single unspent 9 mm round of ammunition all of which had been in his possession. The stabbing victim was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition.

Bryce was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility on several felony charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, possession of a controlled substance, possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, and possession of burglary tools.

According to localcrimenews.com, Bryce was arrested two other times in the past three months. On November 6, 2022 he was arrested by Concord Police for 236 – false Imprisonment by violence, 243(E)(1) – battery on a spouse / cohabitant / former spouse and  417(A)(1) – exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm. Then on January 19, 2023 Bryce was arrested by the Solano County Sheriff’s Department for 496D(A) – receiving stolen property – motor vehicle and 10851(A) – taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

The Antioch Police Department thanks area residents who assisted our officers with witness statements and providing video evidence. If any residents have video evidence which they think can help with this investigation, please call our Dispatch Center at (925) 778-2441 (select option 9). You may also text an anonymous tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword ANTIOCH.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Disaster Recovery Center in Danville to remain open

By Kristi Jourdan, PIO, Contra Costa County Office of Communications & Media

(Martinez, CA) – Contra Costa County offices will be closed Monday, Feb. 20, in observance of Presidents’ Day. Emergency services and law enforcement will be available.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Contra Costa County Disaster Recovery Center will remain open from 10 am to 7 pm at 510 La Gonda Way in Danville to help residents impacted by recent winter storms. For more information, please see www.contracosta.ca.gov/9761.

Visit www.contracosta.ca.gov to find information about County services.

Burglary suspects Casey Beck and Alyssa Castro are placed in the backs of Antioch Police vehicles.

APOA announces it, claims mayor, City ‘s PIO muzzling Chief Ford, APD’s PIO; takes more swipes at Thorpe

Claims patrol staff down to 30 officers

“There is NO reason whatsoever to hold onto this information, unless it is the mayor and him wanting to do more press conferences in an attempt to take credit for the good work our officers are doing.” – Councilwoman Ogorchock

By Allen D. Payton

A rash of burglaries in Antioch, this week has led to the arrest of at two suspect.s But the Antioch Police Department is not being allowed to announce it, according to the Antioch Police Officers Association (APOA). Instead, they announced it and claim Mayor Lamar Thorpe and City Manager Con Johnson want the announcement to go through the city’s contracted public information officer, Rolando Bonilla, instead of APD’s PIO, Ashley Crandell, so Thorpe can hold a press conference about it.

Stolen items in sacks, a box of rocks believed to be used to break the restaurant windows, cash seized from the suspects and their vehicle.

The suspects arrested are 34-year-old Casey Beck and Alyssa Castro. According to vinelink.com, he is a white male and was booked into county jail on Feb. 16 at 12:00 AM. According to reunion.com Beck is an Antioch resident and was born on August 18, 1988. According to vinelink.com she is 21 years old and was also booked into county jail at 12:00 AM on Friday. According to her Facebook page, Castro lives in Antioch and attended Alhambra High and Vicente Martinez High in Martinez.

Source: APOA Facebook page.

APOA Statement

In a statement issued Friday morning, Sgt. Rick Hoffman, president of the APOA wrote:

“People of Antioch,

The APOA felt it was important to address several issues that our officers have been been dealing with and that you, those who live in Antioch, have likely felt the ramifications of. The issue is twofold and has been affecting our department for some time. These issues are staffing and messaging from our department.

The APD has been hemorrhaging officers for the better part of the last 12 months. Through injuries, attrition, the FBI investigation into a group of our officers, and a host of other issues, the APD’s patrol staff is currently staffed at 30 patrol officers. For perspective, the APD’s patrol staff had 65 officers available to work patrol in late 2020.

The reason we are addressing this now is because of the constant misrepresentations we see about our staffing levels and recruitment efforts being put forth by Mayor Thorpe. It cannot be said with enough emphasis that one of the major driving forces causing officers to leave our agency is the dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric coming from the Mayor. The Mayor’s constant negative comments towards our officers since the time of Chief Brooks has caused a large amount of officers to leave our agency because they do not feel the support from our city’s leadership. Just as important, his behavior and rhetoric has also prevented current officers from other agencies from coming to work for our agency. Anecdotally, we have been told by lateral prospects all over the Bay Area that despite the signing bonus that the Mayor has offered, they will not work in Antioch because of the Mayor’s rhetoric against the police department. We have all heard the Mayor blame our staffing crisis on a national trend of an exodus from policing. Although it is true that staffing levels at police departments around the country are down, it is also true that APD’s staffing has hit critically low levels unseen by other departments in the area. Our neighboring agencies do not have the staffing crisis that we have and the APOA attributes much of that to the Mayor’s ongoing rhetoric.

Now, the APD’s recruiting team has been doing an excellent job hiring a good amount of new applicants and they are being put through the police academy as we speak. We know that help to our staffing levels are soon on the horizon and we are confident that the APD’s staffing levels will be back to where they were before. Chief Ford has also been implementing several positive changes and improvements to our training and procedures that will continue to improve our department over the long term. But to be clear, these positive improvements are happening despite the Mayor’s negative comments about our officers and not because of any efforts or programs he has been responsible for. No signing bonus can make up for the damage he’s done to our department but the officers represented by the APOA are resilient and will overcome yet this latest obstacle to accomplishing the mission of keeping the Antioch community safe.

To speak to the issues of keeping the community safe, most of you have likely heard about the burglaries which occurred recently at Antioch businesses and the subsequent apology which was released by APD administration regarding APD’s response. You were told in that apology that there would be positive updates to be released. Those positive updates to this point have not been released and the APOA has been informed that they will not be released because the Mayor has ordered APD’s leadership not to to release any further information regarding this incident. So we, as an APOA, will tell you that the person responsible has been arrested by alert and hard working APD patrol officers. Officers who responded to the original burglary were able to identify the responsible vehicle the night of the burglary and located the vehicle on February 16. They identified the driver as 34 year old Casey Beck and determined that he was responsible for multiple burglaries in the recent past. Beck was arrested and booked at the Martinez Detention Facility.

This update was prevented from reaching you because the Mayor ordered APD leadership from releasing it. We have been informed that this message has reached our department leadership through Chief Strategic Officer Rolando Bonilla. We have been told that Mr. Bonilla ordered the department’s Public Information Officer, Ashley Crandell, from releasing any further information regarding this incident. This is an ongoing pattern that our department has experienced for years. Mayor Thorpe prevented Chief Brooks, interim Chief Morefield and now Chief Ford from updating the public with incidents occurring in the city. The APOA believes he has done this because he does not want our officers to be highlighted positively but rather wants an opportunity to craft the message himself to take the credit for the work our officers do. The APOA will not stand idly by and allow this to happen. We believe that it is important for the citizens of Antioch to know what is occurring with the city. The APOA does not answer to Mayor Thorpe and he will not silence our message. It seems the Mayor routinely forgets that Antioch is a General Law city which means we are governed by a city council of five and we have a “city manager” form of government. Despite this, the Mayor routinely tries to operate as though we are a Charter city with a “strong mayor” form of government. His actions are inappropriate on many levels.

We can assure the people of Antioch that our officers will continue to work diligently to keep you safe and the message of their work will reach you so that you are aware of what is occurring in the city.”

Questions for Thorpe, Johnson, Bonilla, Councilmembers

The following questions were sent to Thorpe, City Manager Con Johnson, Bonilla, Chief Ford, Crandell and the APOA, and copied to the other four city council members, City Attorney Thomas L. Smith and Assistant City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore Friday morning. They were given until noon, Friday to respond for their answers and comments to be included in this report.

Is the information provided by the APOA correct? Most importantly, are there currently only 30 patrol officers on the force?

Did Rolanod order Ashley to not release information to the media about the arrest of the suspect in the various burglaries in Antioch? If so, what authority does he have to tell any staff member of any city department what to do? Or did the order come from you, Con? And was it made to Chief Ford to give to Officer Crandell?

If so, Con did Lamar direct you to do that? If so, why are you taking direction from just one of the five council members when your job is to do what a council majority directs you to do?

Lamar, did you give that direction to both Con and Rolando so you can hold a press conference about the arrest? If so, do you recognize that you don’t have the authority to direct the city manager, city PIO, city attorney or any city staff member what to do and it takes the vote of three council members to direct the city manager or city attorney – and only them since they are the only two city staff members who are hired by and answer to the council?

Council members, do you agree that Con and Thomas are only to act upon the direction of a majority vote by the council and they are not to take direction from just the mayor or any other one or two council members?

When will the city’s PIO fulfill the role for which he is contracted and provide information to the public and not suppress, or control it and prevent all media that covers Antioch from being included in city press releases or city-related press conference announcements?

Did a majority of council members ever vote to direct the city’s PIO or the city manager to direct him to exclude certain media from press releases and press conference announcements? (As an FYI, the last time the Herald received a press release or press conference announcement from Bonilla was on Feb. 14, 2022).

Do any of you have any other comments about this matter?”

Only Two Councilmembers Respond

“100% agree,” District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica responded to the question about the city manager and city attorney only acting upon direction of a majority vote of council members.

Asked if that had ever come up for a vote he responded. “No. I would never vote for that and I don’t recall that ever coming up. Nor would I ever exclude media especially media that are critical of the mayor. If that’s the motive, then that’s wrong. It’s contrary to our system.”

“The press should have access because the press reporting is what keeps government honest,” Barbanica added. “You can’t pick and choose based on who’s going to be friendly to you.”

“I’m very disappointed to learn last night and this morning that the Antioch Police Department is being silenced as to what information they can release to the public. Specifically, and most recently, the arrest of the suspect in this week’s restaurant burglaries.”

Barbanica also posted comments and a video on his official Facebook page sharing additional concerns about the matter and thanking Chief Ford and APD for hosting last night’s Community Forum. The District 2 councilman wrote, “30 OFFICERS WORKING PATROL! (That is NOT at a time…this is TOTAL…divide that by a 24/7 operation and a city of 115,000)

Thank you Chief Ford and the recruiting team for doing everything you can to hire more officers.

Most of all, thank you to the men and women of APD for continuing to work through these difficult times and serve the members of this community.

APD apparently again ordered to withhold press information.”

Ogorchock responded to the questions, as well. In response to the first question about the validity of what the APOA shared she wrote, “If this came from the APOA, they would know and I therefore believe it is true.”

Regarding only 30 patrol officers on the force Ogorchorck responded, “Those are the numbers I have also been given.”

Regarding Bonilla ordering Crandell to not release information to the media about the arrest of the suspect, the District 3 councilwoman wrote, “I understood it was the CM Johnson that had reached out to the Chief and told him he was not to release the suspects information. But I have heard that Rolando has directed the PIO Crandell from APD that she needs to go through him.”

Rolando has NO authority whatsoever to direct staff, period!” she added.

In response to the questions to Johnson if Thorpe directed you to do tell APD not to release the information about the suspect and if so, why is he taking direction from just one of the five council members Ogorchock wrote, “Good question, we are NOT a charter city and we do not have a stand-alone mayor.  All direction needs to be given by the body of the council.”

On the question if she agrees that Johnson and Smith are only to act upon the direction of a majority vote by the council and they are not to take direction from just the mayor or any other one or two council members, she wrote, “We as council have two employees, the CM & CA, they are to only take direction from the majority of council.”

Regarding the PIO fulfilling his role to provide information to the public Ogorchock responded, “We should not be suppressing any media outlets, all should be treated fairly and equally no matter to how one feels about the media and how they share the information.”

About the council voting to direct the city’s PIO or the city manager to direct him to exclude certain media from press releases and press conference announcements, she wrote, “Never on my part. As a matter of fact, I believe in what I wrote above, all should be given the same opportunities. It is not up to the PIO Bonilla to pick and choose which outlets to notify of the goings on in the city.  He should be including all!”

Ogorchock also shared the following comments. 

“In this city we have the most dedicated men and women on our police force, they take pride in this city in which they work and some live,” she wrote. “Their quality of life is suffering due to the lack of officers we currently have as they are being asked to take on extra responsibilities, work several extra hours per shift/week to make sure our residents are safe. Our response times are being impacted by such low numbers of officers, as evident in the recent burglaries, where other priority calls were responded to sooner.

“It is my understanding that City Manager Johnson reached out to Chief Ford and instructed him to NOT release the information regarding the suspects being arrested for the many burglaries that took place,” Ogorchock continued. “APD has a public information officer and her name is Officer Crandell. She through Chief Ford should be releasing information as it becomes available as quickly as possible for transparency.  That is what this legislative body has instructed on multiple occasions with previous Chief Brooks, Interim Chief Morefield and now with Chief Ford. There is NO reason whatsoever to hold onto this information, unless it is the mayor and him wanting to do more press conferences in an attempt to take credit for the good work our officers are doing.”

No other council or staff members responded to the questions prior to publication time.

Damage to Hillcrest Taphouse and Cocina Medina damage on Feb. 15, 2023 shown in photos and a video posted on their respective Facebook pages.

“…our response to the…burglary incidents fell short of our goals, and I want to be very clear about that.” Lt. Michael Mellone

Tailgaters broken front window is shown boarded up. Photo courtesy of Denise Cantrell

By Allen D. Payton

In response to multiple business burglaries in Antioch, this week the Antioch Police Department issued a statement on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 apologizing for the slow response times.

A list and videos of various restaurants that were broken into was published on Facebook and by another media source, including Hillcrest Taphouse, Cocina Medina, Muscle Maker Grill and Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill. A Thursday, February 15 post on the Hillcrest Tap Facebook page shows photos of the damage and reads, “So somebody broke into the restaurant this morning, alarm company called me when they shattered the front door before they even got into the restaurant we called the police they spent 10 minutes going through the restaurant loading up backpack trying to get into everything. Police never showed up. I’ve been in the restaurant for close to 1 and half hours and the police still haven’t showed up. They said they have no officers available for non-emergency. So basically they’re saying it’s a free ride to break in to any restaurant or business because people know that there’s no repercussions for it because the police aren’t going to show up.”

A video posted on the Cocina Medina Facebook page, yesterday shows the damage and included the brief comment, “What’s the point?”

According to a report on ContraCostaNews.com it took police four hours to respond to the burglary at Cocina Medina.

An employee of Muscle Maker Grill cleans up the damage. Photos courtesy of Denise Cantrell

Following is the APD’s statement:

“February 16, 2023

To the Antioch Community:

We are aware of recent concerns about our police response to in-progress property crimes (such as burglaries). I wanted to take a few moments to offer a few words – and apologize. Specifically, our response to the Hillcrest Restaurant & Taphouse and Cocina Medina burglary incidents fell short of our goals, and I want to be very clear about that.

When our Dispatch Center receives an emergency call, they often get triaged based on our available officer resources, and whether the incident is a threat to life, property, or both. In this instance, all of our officers were committed to high priority calls, and we did not respond in a timely manner to these burglary incidents. We have looked into both incidents, found areas where we could’ve done better, and are taking immediate steps to address it.

If I could ask our community, please do not fault our hard-working officers or dispatchers for this lack of performance. I can tell you – without question – that our officers and dispatchers take great pride in serving and protecting Antioch, especially since many of them are from here. In the majority of incidents, we would normally respond quickly to an in-progress burglary, but for these particular incidents we did not, and I apologize to these individual business owners, and our community.

We know that folks in Antioch do not like to hear excuses – especially from their Police Department. I can tell you we are taking immediate steps to improve our staffing levels through robust recruiting efforts. We are sending four police recruits to an academy in the next few days. Three out of four are from Antioch (the other from East County), and all represent a cross section of the community we serve. We also have 10 police applicants in our hiring process currently – and if they meet our high-standards – will be additional help for improving our staffing levels.

These recruiting efforts include concerted attempts to attract women and individuals from the wonderfully diverse community we serve. Soon, we will be announcing a nationwide campaign we have joined to improve our efforts to increase the numbers of women and diverse individuals into our Police Department. We look forward to telling you more about this very soon. My shameless plug is – if you know someone you think would make a great Antioch Police Officer, please ask them to visit our website JoinAntiochPd.com, or give me a call.

We greatly appreciate the support we receive from everyone, but also appreciate (truly) when you hold us accountable when we fall short. Hopefully you’ve noticed our attempts to double-down on our transparency efforts. This is not just in-line with best practice policing reform efforts, but is our obligation to keep you informed about what’s going on, and also level with you when we fall short.

I am pleased to announce that we will have some positive news about these specific burglary incidents very soon – stay tuned. If anyone would like to talk to me about their concerns on this or any other matter where you expected better (or thought we did a good job), I can be reached at (925) 779-6938, or email: mmellone@antiochca.gov.

Thank you, Antioch.

Michael Mellone

Lieutenant of Police

Professional Standards Unit